Kate and Leopold, The Story Continues
by susan friedman
Summary: this story takes place immediately after Kate jumps from the bridge. COMPLETE! Chapter 43 has been edited for content. please r & r, thanks


Kate and Leopold, The Story Continues  
  
Prologue  
  
She couldn't remember running so fast in her life. She had to get there, this time before her grandfather could reach her. The last time she ran for the bridge, he had been right behind her and almost discovered her secret.  
  
So she hid from him, hoping he would go away so that she could jump. She saw him run past and smiled, coming out of her hiding place, only to come face to face with that wretched old man.  
  
So she went back home with him, even though she knew the consequences of her action.  
  
Now here she was, a day later, running for her life. She looked up and saw the Brooklyn Bridge ahead of her. She turned quickly and noticed that her grandfather was nowhere in sight, but he had tricked her before. She was about to go back when she heard the sirens in the distance and then she saw him coming around the corner. He was three long city blocks away. She turned and ran for the bridge onto the pedestrian walkway. She found the girder and walked across very carefully, so she wouldn't fall.  
  
Finally, reaching the end of it, she looked back, but could see nothing. The sirens had gotten louder now and she could see the lights of the Emergency Medical Service ambulance going up the street. She turned her head and looked down at the water. It was then that she had made her mind up. She wasn't coming back this time, no matter what had happened. She couldn't stand living with her grandfather another second. Whether she liked it or not, this was the only way out.  
  
And so she jumped.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Stuart Besser and Charlie McKay were still standing on the Brooklyn Bridge. Kate McKay had just jumped off the bridge to be with Leopold, the Duke of Albany.  
  
"I still can't believe she did it, Stuart," Charlie said, still looking into the water.  
  
Stuart was still smiling. He shook his head. He turned as he heard sirens in the distance. "The police are coming back to look for Kate's body, Charlie. I think we'd better.."  
  
But Charlie wasn't moving. Instead, he pointed to the East River. "Look, Stuart, look over there."  
  
Stuart looked down and saw someone swimming toward the city side of the bridge. It looked as if it was a woman.  
  
"Quickly, Charlie. We have to get off this bridge now. She'll soon be up here and we should meet her."  
  
Charlie frowned. "You don't think that's Kate, do you?"  
  
"I don't know," Stuart said, running as fast as could. "The portal could have closed or something could have happened. Come on."  
  
Charlie looked behind him and noticed the police cars were getting closer. He turned and followed Stuart off the bridge.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Amber Coulter looked around and smiled. She finally made it back here, back to New York in the year 2001. She had been here twice before, after she had discovered the portal in time. She knew she had to see someone named Stuart Besser. Amber had watched him hard at work, mapping out the portal to 1876. She watched him through the window of his apartment after walking up to the roof. He never noticed her, not even when she followed him to the Brooklyn Bridge. Amber watched as he jumped off and landed in the water. She decided to follow his lead and jumped off as well. What she had discovered was a New York she had never known and never realized existed.  
  
She watched Stuart as he swam away from the bridge toward the city side. When he reached the bank, he stood up, getting his bearings. Satisfied, Stuart began to walk.  
  
Amber moved ever closer to the shore, making sure he didn't see her. Only when he disappeared around the corner, did she have the nerve to climb out of the water and follow him down the cobblestone street. She had lost him by this time and decided to head back, so she jumped off the bridge, thinking that she would return to 2001.  
  
But that was not the case. She had returned to her own time, the New York of 2030. She swam to shore and ran back home, pulling out some of Stuart's discarded calculations. That's how she discovered the time portal to the past, to 2001.  
  
She looked up and watched as someone ran toward her, telling her to stop. By instinct, she began to run, thinking that she had made a mistake, that she hadn't come back to 2001 after all.  
  
"Wait, wait," the man yelled out as he caught up to her. "I won't hurt you."  
  
He reached out and touched her shoulder. "I just want to talk to you, please."  
Chapter 3  
  
"I cannot believe you jumped off that girder," Leopold said, laughing. The ball was over and his Uncle Millard had gone to sleep, leaving the two of them alone. Now they were sitting outside in the walled in garden. They had walked to the furthest end of it, as far away from the mansion as they could get.  
  
"I don't know what happened," Kate said. "One minute I was standing there in front of all those people and the next minute, I was standing on the Brooklyn Bridge saying goodbye to Stuart and Charlie."  
  
"What do you mean?" Leopold said, frowning.  
  
Kate smiled. "Oh, I never told you, did I?"  
  
Leopold shook his head. "Told me what?"  
  
"J.J. picked me to be the next VP of CRG Research."  
  
"VP?" Leo asked, a little confused.  
  
"Vice President," Kate answered. She smiled. "I was being introduced as the new VP when Stuart and Charlie broke in and handed me a bunch of pictures." She pulled them out of the bosom of her dress and handed them to Leopold. She had wrapped them up in a plastic bag so that they wouldn't get wet. "These are the shots that Stuart took a week ago, when he came to visit."  
  
Leopold looked through the photos and looked in shock as he came to the one of Kate at the ball.  
  
He looked up and smiled. "I knew that I had seen you before," he said. He looked up and the smile disappeared. He shook the pictures at her. "We have to burn these, Kate, before my uncle discovers them. You took a huge risk in bringing these here."  
  
Kate smiled. "As soon as we go back, we can throw them into the fireplace."  
  
Leo smiled again. "Quick thinking, woman." He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was three thirty in the morning. "Come, we should be getting back. We have a long day tomorrow."  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"You're from where?" Stuart asked as he and Charlie sat down on the couch. Stuart couldn't stop staring at the woman.  
  
"I am from the future, 2030 to be exact," Amber told him. "I found a time portal to the year 2001, Stuart, from the notes you discarded."  
  
Stuart and Charlie exchanged glances.  
  
"And you found the new portal by using my calculations?"  
  
Amber nodded. Now she wasn't so sure that coming back here was the right idea.  
  
"And was there a reason you came back here?"  
  
"Yes, there are several, but the main reason was to share my findings with yours and compare our data. According to my calculations, there are several more portals in the East River. I haven't tried them all and," she smiled, "one of them is extremely confusing. I came back for your help and advice, Stuart."  
  
Stuart was speechless. He continued to stand there staring at her.  
  
"You said there were other reasons," Charlie asked. "Can you tell us about them?"  
  
Amber looked at Charlie and tried not to smile. Here he was and a lot younger than the picture she carried of him.  
  
"Yes, but I don't think that I."  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Stuart walked to the apartment door and opened it. Charlie looked at Amber a moment longer before he turned away.  
  
"May I help you?" he asked, innocently.  
  
"Kate?" the man at the door called out. Standing behind him were two policemen. "Kate McKay, are you in there?"  
  
Stuart shook his head. "I have no idea who you are and I do not particularly like strange people to come barging in my house."  
  
"Ah, J.J.," Charlie said, walking over to him. "Remember me? I'm Kate's brother, Charlie. You know, from that night at the restaurant? How did you get here?"  
  
J.J. smiled. "You, you were the one with Mr. Margarine that night? The one who embarrassed the hell out of me?"  
  
"Just answer me one question," Stuart asked. "How did you get here?"  
  
"I got a hold of the company telephone book." J.J. said, "It listed the downstairs apartment as Kate's address.  
  
Somewhere in the back of the room, Bart, Stuart's dog, began to bark.  
  
"BART!" Stuart called.  
  
"Look, Stuart, or whatever your name is, if you don't produce Kate McKay in five minutes I will have the two of you arrested on murder charges. Do you understand that?"  
  
"Wait, wait," a female voice called out, "Stuart, what's going on here?"  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Tuesday, April 29 dawned clear and bright in contrast to the day before, which had been cloudy and rainy. In fact, it had been that way for five whole days.  
  
The sun streamed into the Leopold's sleeping chamber as Otis pulled the curtains back.  
  
"Rise and shine, Your Grace," he called, turning around, "we finally have a beautiful sunny." he stopped in mid sentence.  
  
Leopold's bed was empty. It was the first time in the three years that he lived here that his bed had not been slept in.  
  
Otis smiled and shook his head. Kate McKay was not your average woman. It was as if she had appeared from nowhere, even though Leopold had assured him that she had been to the mansion once before.  
  
He had never seen him so happy as he was last night at the ball. He had eyes only for her and no one else. They were inseparable, laughing and talking with one another with everyone whispering behind them, wondering whom she was and where she had come from.  
  
He had known that she had come from New York. Kate had mentioned that when she arrived at the mansion and a brief version of how they had met. She had told him that she was in love with Leopold and that she needed to tell him so. From that moment on, he was not only impressed with her looks but her intelligence as well. This woman, he thought, would be great for Leopold.  
  
And so he had let her in. He hadn't regretted it. The only thing that he thought he was going to regret was Uncle Millard's wrath toward Kate later on that morning. He was wondering how he could talk Millard out of it when he spotted something on the floor. He bent down to pick it up and looked at it. It was the picture of Kate arriving at the ball. He smiled and placed it in the inside pocket of his suit. He'd give it to Leopold later when they were alone.  
  
He had just closed the door to his room when he heard humming coming from the end of the house.  
  
If fact, that was the side where all guests slept and this included Kate McKay.  
  
"Your Grace," he said, stopping him in mid song. "Please, tell me."  
  
Leopold stopped. He had a smile on his face wider than any smile Otis had ever seen.  
  
"Please, Otis, stop calling me "Your Grace. You know that I never liked it."  
  
"And what would have me call you?"  
Chapter 7  
  
Leopold looked at him. "You can call me Leopold, Otis. And if you feel uncomfortable doing it in polite society, then you can refer to me as Your Grace."  
  
Otis looked at him. "Your Grace?"  
  
Leopold laughed and shook his head. "It's alright, Otis. I have a favor to ask of you. Please explain to the cook that I need the kitchen this fine morning. I would like to make breakfast for fiancée with my own hands. I have something in mind, if you would care to help me."  
  
Otis shook his head. "You know, your uncle is waiting for you, Leopold," Otis said, trying it out.  
  
"Yes, I expected that would happen. I am well prepared. Kate and I went over it this morning. I slept in her room last night."  
  
Otis smiled. "Yes, I thought that might have been where you disappeared to. I was already in your room."  
  
Leopold smiled. "And I was hoping to be there before you got to it."  
  
"I found something in your room, Leopold, and I wanted to give it to you before someone else gets a hold of it." He reached into his jacket pocket and brought out the picture. He handed to Leopold.  
  
"Where is she from, Your Grace, and how do you know her?"  
  
Leopold looked at him. "Yes, I suppose an explanation is in order, Otis, and I promise that you will have one as I am making breakfast. Just try to keep my uncle away, will you?"  
  
He turned to leave when Otis called him back. "By the way, Your Grace, just what was it that you were humming?"  
  
Leopold smiled. "Something from the soundtrack of Breakfast at Tiffany's, if I remember right. I believe the name of the piece is "Moon River."  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Stuart woke with a start. He looked around and realized that he had fallen asleep on the couch where, only the night before, Leopold had slept. Stuart lay back down again, wondering how and why he was out here and not in his bed.  
  
"Bart?" he called out, but he heard no barking or thrashing coming from the kitchen where the dog usually stayed.  
  
Stuart scratched his head. The apartment was unusually quiet, quite a difference from the excitement that went on earlier that morning.  
  
He was trying to remember if it was real or if it had been all a dream when he heard the front door open.  
  
"Calm down, Bart, " a female voice called out. "There you go. Go, go on, and say hello to your father."  
  
Stuart sat up. "Amber?" he called. The name sounded vaguely familiar. He waited until he saw Bart run over to the couch. He jumped all over Stuart, licking him all over his face.  
  
Stuart laughed and grabbed both sides of Bart's neck to grab and push him away.  
  
"Amber," he called again. "Is that you?"  
  
"Good afternoon, Stuart," Amber called, walking into the living room. "Lunch is already waiting on the table. I have to go in two hours, but I will be back at five.  
  
Stuart got up and walked to meet her. "You really going to do to this, aren't you? You really think that you can fill Kate's shoes?"  
  
Amber smiled. "For the meantime anyway, just until J.J. finds a replacement. I told you my major in college was marketing research." She smiled and poked him in the stomach. "Got you off the hook, didn't I?"  
  
Stuart nodded. "You sure did and for that I am forever grateful." He sat down at his desk where she placed the grilled cheese sandwich that she had made. He bit into it and noticed all the new calculations. "This is good," he called out to her as she brought her own sandwich over.  
  
"Thanks," she said, sitting down on the couch. "If you like that, wait until you taste what I have planned for dinner tonight." She picked up her sandwich and took a bite out of it. "Have you looked at any of that?" she asked, gesturing toward her calculations.  
  
"Just enough to notice that you found another portal," Stuart said, smiling. He shook his head. "How did you get involved in this? How come you aren't doing what you had gone to school for?"  
  
Amber smiled and shook her head. She took another bite out of her sandwich and shrugged her shoulder. "It's just a hobby, Stuart, never really thought about it much. I just got started on it after I got laid off from CRG Janssen."  
  
Stuart put the cheese sandwich down. "Isn't that where Kate worked? CRG?"  
  
Amber nodded her head. "I guess it just runs in the family, Stuart."  
  
"Runs in the family? What are you talking about."  
Chapter 9  
  
"I am Kate's first cousin once removed, Stuart. I am Kelly Coulter's daughter."  
  
Stuart spat out his food. "Kelly Coulter, of the Westchester Coulter's? You mean Kate's rich relatives on her mother side?"  
  
Amber nodded. "Yes, Aunt Margaret's sister, Eileen."  
  
Stuart couldn't believe this. Margaret and her younger sister Eileen were inseparable until Maggie married Kate's father, Sean Patrick McKay of Massapequa. They had money, but not enough to suit Jasper Coulter, Maggie's father.  
  
So Jasper had Eileen's wedding arranged to a distant cousin named Mark Coulter, who had been a successful lawyer. A year later, Eileen had given birth to baby Kelly and everything was fine until a drunken driver with a suspended license had hit Eileen crossing the street, killing her instantly.  
  
At that point, there was nowhere for little Kelly to go, except to stay with her father, who raised her. Mark never got over Eileen's death and he had blamed himself for leaving Eileen alone so much of the time. So he had quit his job and had become a recluse, giving Kelly his full attention. As she grew older, he came to depend on her more and more. He had started to drink right after Eileen's death, but it was only to help him sleep. Now he was drinking all the time and was making Kelly's life miserable.  
  
"She was talking care of your grandfather last I heard. I didn't know that she had become pregnant."  
  
"Not yet," Amber said, looking at him. "Kelly stood by and watched while her father drank up the family fortune. So she attended business school, earned her degree in marketing and accepted a job offer. Of course Grandfather didn't like that. He would yell at her for working, saying that Coulter woman never had to support a man. During this time, she had an affair with one of her bosses and she became pregnant with me."  
  
"Didn't he marry her?" Stuart asked innocently.  
  
Amber shook her head. "Michael actually wanted to, but my grandfather forbade it saying that he not right for her and begged Kelly to stay with him. She quit her job to raise me and lived with her father for a while, but she couldn't put up with his rules and his constant criticism of her. He always tore her down, Stuart. No matter how hard she tried to make it work, she never could. So she began to go out on the sly and disappear for hours until one day, she never returned."  
  
She shook her head. "I was sixteen years old when she walked out. By then, we were living in a small condo that Mother had paid in full from the sale of the Westchester mansion. She actually said goodbye to me and I hadn't even realized it. She hugged me and told me that I was old enough to do as I pleased, that I didn't have to stay with him any more. She had even hidden some money away to send me to school."  
  
"But you stayed, didn't you?"  
  
Amber nodded. "Grandfather was never the same after that. He was a totally different person. He drank more and more especially when I started school. I felt guilty and I stayed to take care of him. When he knew that I would stay, he gave up the drinking and even calmed down a bit, but it was only temporary. I should have known, should have seen it coming."  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Charlie McKay had just hung up with Patrice. He had apologized for being late for lunch and promised to meet her for dinner. It had been three thirty in the morning by the time he got back to Kate's apartment, now his. He didn't know how he was going to afford living there by himself, so he would need a roommate to share expenses.  
  
He had depended on his older sister all his life, ever since Maggie and Sean McKay died when the train they were traveling in had derailed. They had just left New York City and were on their way down to Florida to look for a place that they could retire to. They weren't the only ones, twenty other people died with them.  
  
At least Kate was older by than and had just started her job at CRG. She was young, only twenty-seven years old. Charlie had just turned twenty-two and was studying to become an actor. He worked on and off at whatever he could get to help Kate with the expenses. When she started going out with Stuart, she paid for expenses while he worked on his "projects", the time portal being one of them.  
  
He had gone to what Kate always called "actor camp," a workshop which was always held at the Bear Mountain Inn and had come back to find Leopold, whom he thought was a fellow actor. He had lost his sister to him a week later, but had gained a new friend, one Amber Coulter from the New York of 2030. He had meant to ask if she was related in any way to his mother's side of the family. He never got the chance because Amber became involved with J.J. when he had come to the door looking for Kate. She had told her old boss that Kate had traveled a long way to visit distant relatives and she was probably not coming back anytime soon, although this had been a disappointment to Charlie because he not only missed his sister, but Leo as well. This seemed to satisfy J.J. as well as her taking over Kate's job temporarily.  
  
However, when Charlie had seen her that morning, she had clued him in on one thing, that whatever he was to do the rest of the day, he shouldn't miss the audition that was to start at 2:30 today. Amber had told him that this was the turning point in his life, even if he didn't get the job that he had come in for. That's all she would tell him, she said she couldn't ruin the space time continuum, he had to see for himself  
  
So Charlie was excited as he dressed for audition and for his dinner with Patrice.  
  
As he was about to leave, a knock came on the door.  
  
Charlie opened it and frowned. Two men in suits were standing in the doorway of the apartment.  
  
"May I help either of you?" Charlie asked, trying to make light of the situation.  
  
"Are you Mr. Charles McKay?" asked the shorter of the two men.  
  
Charlie brightened up at that. "That's me," he said, "Is there something I can do for you?"  
  
"Can we see some ID?" the taller one spoke this time.  
  
"Look, what's this all about?" Charlie asked, a little angrily as he took out his wallet from his pant's pocket. He took out his driver's license and handed it to the taller one.  
  
He took it and looked at Charlie, then at the license, then back again. He handed it to the shorter one, who just looked at the picture, nodded and handed it back to Charlie.  
  
Then the shorter one flashed an identification badge.  
  
Charlie was getting nervous as he put his driver's license back in his wallet.  
  
"I am Detective Philip Garner of the NYPD and this is Mr. Lester Stovall, president of the Bank of New York," the shorter of the two said. "And this," he said, introducing a third man, "is Mr. Barney Seagraves of the law firm, Seagraves and Seagraves."  
  
Charlie looked from one to the other and back again. "And what does all this have to do with me?"  
  
"Well," Detective Garner piped up. "We have a letter here from 1876 addressed to a Mr. Charles McKay," He smiled and handed Charlie the letter. "We also have a key to a safe deposit box, which Mr. Stovall is handing out to you. There are contents in there for your eyes only, Mr. McKay."  
  
Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. He took the keys dangling from Lester Stovall's hand.  
  
"This box was opened especially for you, Mr. McKay."  
  
When Charlie didn't answer, the detective continued. "Mr. Seagraves is here to take a signed affidavit that you received both the key and the letter. I am here to make sure you do that."  
  
Charlie was excited now. "Do you have any idea what's in the box?" he said, signing the piece of paper that Seagraves handed him. He handed it back.  
  
Garner shook his head. "Have no clue, Mr. McKay. It was opened for you in your name. Whatever is in there belongs to you." Seagraves looked down at the signature. Satisfied, he put the paper in his pocket.  
  
"Well, we should be off now," the detective told him. "If you need any assistance while you're at the bank, don't hesitate to ask for Mr. Stovall."  
  
Charlie looked up at him and smiled. "Of course I will and thank you very much for stopping by."  
  
Charlie watched as the three of them made their way down the hall, then closed the door. He stared at the letter dated April 29, 1876 and looked at his watch. It was late, just a little after two o'clock. He didn't have to go far, but he should leave or else he would miss the audition.  
  
He left the letter on the kitchen table, took one last look in the mirror and opened the door and left.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Kate folded the letter, put on the sealing wax and stamped it with the Montbattan initial. If it had worked in Back to the Future, it would probably work in this situation, she thought as she picked up the letter. She turned it over and wrote Charlie's name on the front. She just wanted to let everyone know back in the year 2001 that she was fine.  
  
Now if she could only get it out the door without anyone seeing.  
  
She opened up the bedroom door and looked around. The hallway was quiet except for the hustle and bustle of the maids and servants. Kate closed the door and started down the steps. She was still wearing the beautiful nightgown that Kathleen, her new personal maid, had left on her bed.  
  
She had made it to the bottom and looked around again before she opened it. She walked out in her bare feet to the tall mailbox marked "Letters" and put it into the box. She wanted to pick it up later when the two of them went out for a short walk sometime in the afternoon. With that done, she headed into the house where Otis was waiting for her.  
  
"You are invited into the dining room for a wonderful handmade breakfast, milady." Otis held out his arm and Kate smiled and put her own arm through his. "Thank you, Otis," she said simply and once again, Otis felt a tingling sensation go through him. She wasn't like anyone that he had ever met before.  
  
"And please, feel free to call me Kate," she said, smiling at him.  
  
Otis smiled back. "You will still have to meet Leopold's Uncle Millard. That has been postponed to 2 pm this afternoon."  
  
"Postponed?" Kate asked.  
  
"By Leopold, who wanted to surprise you," Leopold's voice called from the kitchen. "Sit down, Kate. I made breakfast especially for you."  
  
Chapter 12  
  
"Known about what?" Stuart said, taking the last bite out of his sandwich, he was listening intently now.  
  
"Known that Grandfather would be that way," Amber said, shaking her head, "but I held out, hoping that he would change."  
  
Stuart looked at her, intrigued. "When and how did you find your first time portal?"  
  
Amber smiled. "Believe it or not, the first one was to 2001, to your time, Stuart. I came by it accidentally. I was running away from Grandfather again and walked out onto the girder, but I wasn't so careful and I fell forward into the water. I came up and I hadn't realized what century it was or if indeed, it was a different one. You were still in the hospital then, after falling down the elevator shaft. I walked to the apartment house where you, Kate and Charlie lived and looked around. I actually wanted to see if it was still the same, Stuart."  
  
"And was it?"  
  
Amber shook her head. "It looks so much better in this time period. Where you live in the future is the poorest section in town, Stuart. I know you can't imagine it, but it's true. The most desirable place to live in my time is the Bronx."  
  
Stuart smiled and shook his head. "You're right, Amber. I can't believe it. What a switch."  
  
"I found some papers that had floated down from the roof. They were calculations, Stuart. At first, I didn't know what they were, but I picked them up and studied them, when I arrived back in my own time."  
  
"By finding those papers, you've already altered the future," Stuart said.  
  
Amber looked at him. "I guess I never realized that. I thought that if I found those papers and returned without disturbing anything, the future would still be the same."  
  
"You found all those portals, Amber," Stuart whispered, looking at her in amazement. "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking."  
  
Amber smiled. "I'm twenty eight years old, Stuart. I will be born November 26 in the year 2002."  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Charlie ran all the way home. He had never been so happy in his whole life. He had gotten the part, finally.  
  
All right, so this one was small, but it was a pivotal role. The entire film centered on his character and he only had three lines to utter.  
  
He was so excited that he almost missed the lock entirely when he stuck the key into it. He had to tell Amber that she had been right, but why shouldn't she. She was from the future and she knew what would happen. He looked at his watch and noticed that the time was 4:30 pm, but he knew that she would be doing Kate's job temporarily. All she had was an hour left and then she'd be back and he could share the letter with her and Stuart and then.  
  
Oh, damn! He had forgotten all about Patrice. She was meeting him at that restaurant, the one the where he and Leopold walked into while Kate was sitting having dinner with J.J. He'd have to call her to change plans again.  
  
Well, he just had to get ready and started for his bedroom when something hit him. Kate's letter, he thought, I forgot about Kate's letter. He ran back into the dining room, to the table where he had left it.  
  
And, he thought as he picked up the letter, there's more.  
  
Dear Charlie, the letter began. Remember Back to the Future 3 when Doc Brown wrote his letter in 1885 and sent it to Marty McFly in 1955? Well, I wondered if it would work in this situation. Unfortunately, there is no way I will find out, I just assume that it will.  
  
Anyway, I needed to tell you and Stuart that I arrived a little before midnight and a little later than I arrived the first time. Otis let me in after I explained to him that Leopold had invited me and I hesitated to come at first, but I needed to tell him something of importance. When he asked what it was, it all came spilling out, the fact that I lived in New York and that we had met a few days ago. He fell in love with me quickly and I just didn't know how to handle that. When Leopold left me, I realized that I loved him and needed him, which is why I came here to see him. He smiled and let me in.  
  
Please apologize to J.J. and explain that I was not ready to be the new VP of CRG Janssen and I hope he can find my replacement quickly.  
  
Must go, I hear footsteps and I will have to get rid of this letter quickly before someone sees me. I will write more, I promise.  
  
All my love,  
  
Kate  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Millard was grumbling as he made his way back home from the bank. First there was that small matter of a mistake on his bank records, which, he had found out, was never there to begin with.  
  
What he was really upset about was his nephew, the Duke of Albany. Leopold never acted like royalty and never wanted to be royalty. Then there was this woman who he had never met and had never seen before, this poor common street wench that he had picked up out of nowhere and pronounced his undying love for. Why, that boy needed to learn some manners. There was no excuse for his behavior, none at all. He should just march right up to the house and give him the tongue thrashing he deserved, then throw that Kate what's-her-name right back into the street from whence she came.  
  
He would force him to marry someone of his own choosing, someone with money and refinement, someone with splendor and gracefulness, not some yellow haired floozy he'd picked up on the street the night before.  
  
And then he remembered how Leopold's eyes lit up when he saw her enter the room. His whole personality had changed. What had impressed him about her even then was the way she held herself, well, before she tripped over herself anyway. Her face was as beautiful as the new gray gown she was wearing. From the little he could get from Otis, they had met a few days ago at the house of an acquaintance both known to them. Leopold had fallen head over heels in love with this woman and she wanted nothing to do with him until they had had an argument. He had walked out on her and she went chasing after him to tell apologize, to explain to him that it had all been a mistake. Otis said he let her in because he thought that they were strong, rebellious and independent and would suit each other well. They needed one another, this was obvious, and they were both very much in love.  
  
He hadn't seen Leopold that happy since he had been a small boy in England.  
  
She said she was from Massapequa, which was out in the country of all places. What was out there anyway besides a few houses and a new hotel? What was her last name anyway? McKay? Wasn't that it? The McKay's of Massapequa, Leopold had announced. Well, think, Millard, who was out there. He knew of the McKay brothers, the ones who started the general store out there where there was none before. Sean Patrick and Daniel Joseph had become millionaires several times over with their store and that was just in the first five years that it had opened.  
  
So she did have money, if indeed those were her relations.  
  
He smiled and stopped. Maybe he had been a bit too harsh. Maybe he could accept her as she was. Maybe the men last night who had joined him later in the smoking room were right after all.  
  
"Oh, come, come Millard, of course they should marry. Do not ruin his happiness. Why, you ask? You do want him married, don't you? You don't want him living with you forever, especially with a miserable old bachelor, now would you?"  
  
Well, they had been right. His own arranged marriage had been a disaster from the start. He had hated Millicent from the very beginning; even her name bothered him. She had never given him any children, none whatsoever.  
  
Is this what he really wanted to give his nephew? Did he want Leopold to share his fate? The answer was a resounding no.  
  
Millard quickened his step and headed toward the mansion. He must get there quickly to explain his sudden change of heart. He needed to give them both an explanation and apologize for his behavior.  
  
He was not going to deprive Leopold the happiness that was due him.  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Stuart was making the final calculations when Amber walked in. He picked his head up and smiled. "Well, how was the first day?"  
  
"It went very well, I think," she said. J.J. was so impressed that he wants me every day and full time as well."  
  
"And?" Stuart asked, getting up.  
  
"I told him I couldn't," Amber said, "and asked him to find a replacement as quickly as possible. I told him I might not stay as long as I promised."  
  
She hung up her light spring jacket and walked inside to start dinner, but Stuart stopped her.  
  
"You don't have to make dinner, I ordered in a pizza." He walked closer to her. When Amber turned around, she found him staring at her. "About the not staying part, is there a reason that you'd be going so soon?"  
  
Amber looked in his eyes and smiled. "I can stick around if you want me to, Stuart. I thought the longer I stayed here, the more I was messing up the time continuum."  
  
She waited for Stuart's reply and when none came, she changed the subject. She walked over to his desk. "What is this you are working on?"  
  
Stuart smiled and walked back to join her. "That, my lady, is just one of the time portals you found. It leads to New York in the 1920's. Haven't figured out exactly what year it is yet and some other things need tweaking, but it looks as if we might be able to experiment with it."  
  
"Shouldn't Kate and Leopold still be alive? Maybe we can go and visit".She stopped and stared at him. She frowned. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"How do you know about Kate and Leopold?" Stuart asked. "I don't think I'd ever told you about them."  
  
Amber frowned. "Of course you did, Stuart. Don't you remember last night when the cops came here trying to pin Kate's murder on you and Charlie?" Don't you remember what I told them?"  
  
Stuart stared at her. "You told them that she was off visiting relatives and that she wasn't coming back anytime soon." He looked up at her. "I'm sorry, Amber. I guess I'd forgotten. Just tell me one thing, how did you know?"  
  
Amber looked at him. "Come on, Stuart. They are all over the place. All you have to do is look on the Internet and in books. There are photos everywhere of Leopold, Kate and their two children." She stopped in mid sentence and put her hand up to her lips. "Now I should apologize to you."  
  
"No, no, that's not necessary," Stuart reached out and took her hand away from her lips. "It's good to know that she reached 1876 safely. It was so close, Amber. Another second and the portal would've closed."  
  
Amber nodded. She moved toward him. "Yes," she answered, "the timing must be precise. One more second and you'd be stuck in the wrong time period."  
  
Stuart smiled. He was close to her now that he could feel the heat coming from her.  
  
"You are so smart and beautiful," he whispered as he moved his head closer to hers. He pulled her towards him and she put up no resistance.  
  
Then the doorbell rang.  
  
Chapter 16  
  
"Must be the pizza," Amber whispered as they broke apart reluctantly. "I'll see how much the charge is."  
  
"No," Stuart said, getting up, still looking in one another's eyes. "I'll do it. He got up and walked to the door.  
  
"How much do we owe you?" he asked opening up the door. He expected the delivery boy, not a brown haired girl standing there with a pizza in her hand.  
  
"Hi, " she said politely, holding out her hand. "You must be Charlie's friend, Stuart."  
  
"I might be," Stuart asked "and who might you be?"  
  
"I'm Patrice, Charlie's friend." She peered over the Stuart's shoulder. "Is Charlie here? He left a note on the apartment door that he'd be up here if anyone needed him?"  
  
"Did someone call for a delivery?" a voice called from the back. Stuart sighed. Now there was the pizza boy.  
  
Amber stood up now and started toward the door when she heard a voice coming from the rooftop.  
  
"Stuart, Amber," Charlie called from rooftop door, "you've got to see this and you won't believe it. I don't and I am holding it in my hand."  
  
"What is it?" Amber asked, walking toward Charlie. Stuart was now paying the delivery boy for the pizza.  
  
"It's a letter from Kate all the way from 1876." He was smiling. " And look, I've got a safe deposit box key," he said, holding it up. "Apparently she thought.."  
  
"Hi ya Charlie," a voice called from the door, "forget all about me?"  
  
Charlie looked over and his eyes widened. He smiled. "Patrice!" he called excitedly. "You found it after all."  
  
"I told you I'd have no difficulty finding this place. Now what about 1876?"  
  
"Pizza's here," Stuart called as he carried in the pie. He kicked it closed and set the pizza down on the dining room table next to Patrice's. "Any takers?"  
Chapter 17  
  
"Kate?" Leopold called, taking out his pocket watch to check the time. It was almost 2:00 and he liked to be early.  
  
"Almost done," she called from inside her room. She turned from the mirror and looked at Kathleen, "Well?" she asked her, "how do I look?"  
  
"You look lovely, milady," Kathleen answered, "except that you act as if you've never worn a dress before."  
  
Actually, Kate thought, you are right. I never have worn any of these dresses before. She turned around to look in the mirror again before she opened the door. She smiled. She actually loved these dresses and frilly things and she thought that she fit right in, even if it was her first full day in 1876. She would just have to get used to the lack of jeans for women anymore.  
  
Suddenly she had a thought. What if Uncle Millard didn't accept her? Then what? She'd come all this way for nothing. Otis said over breakfast that he could be a bit overbearing and to watch out for his tricky questions. Most of them he and Leopold went over and over with her.  
  
Now she wasn't so sure what she wanted anymore. Why did she jump off that girder? Why did she allow herself to be manipulated by Stuart as she always had during the past four years of their relationship? But in the end, she knew that the only reason that she jumped was to be with Leopold and she hadn't regretted it. She did love him after all.  
  
"KATE!" Leopold called again, a little louder this time.  
  
"COMING," Kate called out and opened the door. Standing there, waiting impatiently, was Leopold.  
  
"Well? What do you guys think?" Whoops, she thought, where did that one come from?  
  
Otis looked at Leopold, but Leopold ignored her small comment as if he hadn't heard.  
  
"You are beautiful, Kate McKay," he said, "no matter where you are in time."  
  
She smiled as Leopold extended his arm and she fit her hand inside it. "My uncle would be a fool to deny me this marriage."  
  
Kate looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear. "Leopold, what if he doesn't accept me and I've come all this way."  
  
She thought for a while. "Maybe we can go back, Leopold, maybe it won't be a total loss. All we have to do is jump off that bridge."  
  
Leopold looked angrily at her.  
  
"Back to where, Kate, to 2001? It's impossible. I don't have Stuart's calculations or the proper weather equipment to figure them out. Besides, we don't when the portal will reopen or close again. You do realize that the portal Stuart found only opens one day, that of April 28, 1876."  
  
He looked in her eyes and waited for her to say something, anything, but Kate didn't respond.  
  
"Katherine McKay," he whispered smiling, taking her hands in his. "I will never leave you, not now, not ever. What kind of man do you take me for?"  
  
Kate shook her head and the tears began to flow. Leopold reached his hand up to her cheek to dry them,  
  
"I can't do this, Leopold. I can't stand there in front of your uncle and have him rip me into little pieces just because I love you."  
  
Leopold pulled her into his arms. "We'll find a way Katherine, I promise, but as of now, I do not believe he will deny us certain things. He only wants my happiness and what is best for me. He knows and understands how happy I am that you are here. I'm sure he'll feel the same way."  
  
"Your Grace," Otis interrupted, "your uncle is waiting."  
  
Chapter 18  
  
"Well," Millard said, as Kate and Leopold entered his study, "sit down, please."  
  
He waited until they both sat down, and then he looked at her. "So, Katherine McKay, that is your name, isn't it? In fact, if I remember, you told everyone last night that you were from the McKay's of Massapequa.  
  
Kate nodded. "Yes, sir," she answered. "The McKay's have always made a home in Massapequa, since, well, the middle of the seventeen hundreds. They always had a head for business and opened a small general store, which they had operated for at least a dozen or so years before they profited by it. Within a small amount of time, they became wealthy and sold off some of the business only to open another store in another part of town. Our family bought into other holdings as well." she began, but Millard had stopped her.  
  
"So," he said, "I was wrong about the how long the general store was open." He smiled. "Then you weren't lying. Are they informed of your upcoming marriage to my nephew?"  
  
Kate was going to say something, then stopped and looked at Leopold and turned back to Millard.  
  
"What?" she asked. "You mean that's it, that's the whole thing?"  
  
She got up, only to find that her feet wouldn't support her and she dropped to the floor in a faint.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Kate woke sometime later in her darkened room. Leopold was sitting in a chair by the bed watching her.  
  
"Where am I?" she said, a little confused.  
  
"You're here with me in 1876, Kate," Leopold answered. He moved the chair in closer. "You fainted on the way out of my uncle's study. He didn't even have time to finish asking you all those questions." He smiled and picked up Kate's hand. "We tried the smelling salts, they didn't work. It's the first time that I have ever seen a woman faint and the smelling salts not work."  
  
Kate sat up. "Did he say anything to you about.."  
  
Leopold laughed. "He loves you, Kate. You are honest and very candid, to say the least. "  
  
"Does he still want to contact my great, great grandfather?" Kate whispered.  
  
Leopold shook his head. "He's been out of touch with the McKay's for years. He thinks they may have moved out of New York altogether."  
  
Kate shook her head. "No, they stayed in Massapequa all their lives. One of my great, great grandfathers, Daniel Joseph, I believe, moved to Boston when he married one of the Coulter girls, but that didn't last long. The Coulter family was split between Boston and New York. Rebecca Coulter was staying with relatives when Daniel was up there on business. They married in Boston, but moved back to Massapequa when Sean died of pneumonia at thirty five."  
  
"So my uncle most likely would have been in correspondence with Sean Patrick, not Daniel. You must be his descendant, then."  
  
"Yes, he was my great, great grandfather," she answered. "They gave birth to my great grandfather who married another Coulter woman and gave birth to two sons and a daughter, my grandfather, who, of course, gave birth to my father, Sean Patrick."  
  
"Sean must have been a bachelor all his life for my uncle to have known him."  
  
"Yes, " Kate said, looking a little surprised, "you are right, he never married. He was always sickly, according to my grandmother."  
  
Leopold smiled. "And the Coulters?"  
  
Kate nodded. "My family seemed to have always managed to stay together. Fate seemed to have brought us together. It is legend in the McKay household that Daniel Patrick McKay saved the life of Thomas Coulter when the building they were working in caught fire. It was the McKay's first general store; Thomas had been doing the books for him. Since that time, the families have been inseparable."  
  
"And I am to assume that Daniel Patrick was your great, great, great grandfather."  
  
Kate nodded and smiled. "You assume correctly, Your Grace."  
  
Leopold smiled and stood. "Don't you ever call me that again, my girl, or else."  
  
"Or else what?" Kate giggled as he climbed onto the bed.  
  
"I'll think of something," Leopold whispered, sitting next to her. "And I'll take care of it after I finish this." He put his arms around her and brought her closer to him, kissing her.  
  
Chapter 19  
  
"Amber, wait please. They were wrong, listen to me. Don't jump, wait for me."  
  
Stuart jumped up. He was dripping with sweat as he usually did when he had this dream. It was the same dream he had for over a week now. It had begun in the hospital, believe it or not. The first night he was there. He thought it might have been the surroundings, but it turned out not to be.  
  
He looked over at Amber who was sound asleep next to him. Thank God he hadn't woken her. He smiled as he reached out his hand to caress her cheek. He didn't think he could fall in love again after his disastrous relationship with Kate, but he found that he could. He couldn't believe that a gorgeous girl like Amber Coulter could come into his life in such a short amount of time.  
  
She reminded him of Kate in a lot of ways, medium length blond hair, blue eyes and a sunny, yet quirky disposition. The best part, however, was that she loved everything he did. She was so smart; perhaps she was even smarter than him. Stuart adored her for that. Stuart knew that loving her was dangerous, she was from the future, but he couldn't help himself.  
  
It was after the pizza and everyone had left that it happened. They were working on the 2030 portal, the one that was "screwy" in Amber's words. They were working on the floor because Stuart's desk was too small to accommodate both of them. They began to argue; Amber saying that no matter what refinements Stuart made the portal still wouldn't work and Stuart kept saying it would. So Amber grabbed a slice of left over pizza and flung it at Stuart. Stuart grabbed a slice and threw it back and then a tickling match had begun.  
  
Stuart got on top of her and tickled her; she tried to get him off. So they began to roll right into the pizza box, getting sauce and cheese all over them. They both began to laugh.  
  
"Here," Stuart said, looking at her face, trying to stop laughing. "Let me help you," as he brushed the sauce from her cheek. They had both stopped laughing by then. "Thanks, Stuart," Amber whispered, "thank you so much for everything," she said and she sat up a little to give him a short kiss on the lips.  
  
"Amber," he whispered, still brushing her cheek. He was looking in her eyes now. "I love you, you know."  
  
"And I love you," she said and she brought him down to her lips and they kissed. They had eventually found themselves in Stuart's double bed, their sauce filled clothes thrown on the floor. Stuart promised them to wash them in the morning.  
  
"Stuart?" Amber called, rolling over to his side of the bed. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, love," he whispered, touching her, "go back to sleep. Everything's okay." She smiled and rolled over. "I love you Stuart Besser," she said before she fell asleep again. "And I love you, Amber Coulter," he whispered as he lay down and pulled the covers around him. He pulled closer, putting his arms around her, finally falling asleep.  
  
Chapter 20  
  
Patrice walked out of Kate McKay's old room. She couldn't sleep as usual. Take her out her own bed and put her somewhere else and it always worked. She had to be in her own bed or she couldn't sleep until she got used it, if she ever got used to it, that is.  
  
She walked into the bathroom the bathroom to see if her shirt had dried off. Bart had dropped a slice of pizza on her new and beautiful white shirt. Charlie immediately offered to wash the shirt since they were among only five apartments that contained a washer/dryer combination. The problem with this, she had told him, was that it was hand wash only and you couldn't dry it in the machine.  
  
So Charlie had placed it in the bathroom to dry.  
  
Patrice walked over to Charlie's room and looked in. He was sound asleep. She sighed and closed the door. He was like no one else she had ever met, thoughtful and caring, nothing like that boy that she had known for almost six months. He had changed and she didn't know why, but she really didn't care. She had grown to love him.  
  
She decided not to wake Charlie up by turning on the TV, so she decided to take a self-guided tour of the apartment. There were only two rooms that she hadn't seen, the kitchen, and the living/dining room. She had already looked into the small kitchen area and entered the dining room where she noticed something lying on the table. It looked like a letter. She reached out for it and pulled Kate's letter closer to read.  
  
"Well, I guess you found out my secret?" Charlie said as he sat down next to her at the table. "And what might that be, pray tell?" she smiled at him.  
  
"That I have a sister who lives in 1876", Charlie answered, a little reluctantly.  
  
"You mean that it's for real?" Patrice asked him.  
  
"Very much so," Charlie answered, looking at her face and into her eyes. "She jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge to be with Leo in 1876. You remember him, don't you?"  
  
Patrice smiled. "Of course I remember him, Charlie. He walked into the bar with you last week. The one who gave us a fabulous walking tour of 'le Louvre.'  
  
They had both said the name of the museum together and smiled at one another.  
  
"Is she happy there, do you think, coming from the future and all? I don't know if I could get used to it."  
  
"I don't know for sure yet. I know she's opened a safe deposit box for me, but I don't know what's in it yet. Care to find out with me tomorrow?"  
  
Patrice smiled. "Yeah," she said to him, "why not? It's my day off anyway."  
  
She looked at him, but Charlie just smiled. "Anything wrong?" she asked.  
  
"I miss him, Patrice," he answered, "and I really miss my sister."  
  
"You two have something going together?"  
  
Charlie frowned. "You mean with Leo?"  
  
Patrice nodded.  
  
He looked at her. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Well, you are the nicest guy I've ever met Charlie. You are the first boy in this day and age that would let his girlfriend sleep in his missing sister's room?"  
  
Charlie smiled. "Are you implying that I am gay?"  
  
She smiled and nodded. "Care to prove me wrong?" she teased.  
  
Charlie's smile widened as he crept closer to her. "Just watch me," he laughed. He took her in his arms and kissed her.  
  
Chapter 21  
  
Amber opened her eyes and smiled. Finally, she thought, she had dreamt about this moment and it finally happened. This was only a part of the reason that she had wanted to come back to this time period. It was because Stuart was here and she had such a crush on him. She didn't know why really. Besides the fact that he was brilliant, he was a bum. He didn't have a job nor did he even want one. He was content to live off the royalties of his published works, which didn't amount to much, but just enough to live on.  
  
Kate paid a lot of his expenses when they were seeing each other and she continued to pick up his bills after they had broken up. This was a good thing, but now Kate was gone. She hadn't been gone long enough for him to notice the difference, but he would eventually. There wasn't much going for Stuart and she knew it, but it didn't matter to her.  
  
Amber didn't turn around; she just stretched out her arm and felt along the bed for him. Her smile faded and was replaced with a frown.  
  
"Stuart?" Amber said, turning around. "Stuart?"  
  
"Amber, Amber!" Stuart called running into the bedroom. A smile lit up his face. Amber sat up.  
  
"You have to come, Amber, you have to come. " He reached out his hand and practically pulled her off the bed. "It works, Amber, the portal works."  
  
"How do you know, Stuart? Anyway, which portal?"  
  
"The one to 2030, it's open from May 2nd to the 4th to be exact."  
  
Amber looked at him. "May 4th is the day I left, Stuart."  
  
Stuart shook his head and smiled. "No, no Amber. You don't understand. We have two full days in the future before May 4, midnight to midnight. I don't know if you realize this, but if you had waited a second longer, the portal would have closed. You must have arrived the minute that Kate left."  
  
"Are you sure, Stuart? That portal isn't right. It doesn't always work. Anyway, I didn't come here to return, I came here to be with you. I've loved you, Stuart, since I first laid eyes on you. But that's not the only reason I came here. My grandfather, Stuart, he's crazy, nuts, psycho. He doesn't like me fooling around with time travel or leaving him alone. I'm twenty-eight years old, Stuart. I don't want to go back, I just want to stay here with you. "  
  
She started to cry and Stuart took her in his arms. "I love you, Amber, and I promise I won't let anything happen to you. Please don't worry. We'll stay out of sight, I promise. The portal should let us come back to 2001. I've worked it out a few times and we will be able to leave anytime we want prior to when you jumped off at 11:56."  
  
He pushed here away from him and looked in her eyes. "You understand that there will be two of you, but if you see yourself jumping off the bridge on Monday, May 4 than you know that the portal will have closed and you shouldn't jump. Remember that, Amber. No matter what happens, I'll be there."  
  
"But Stuart," she answered, but she never finished the sentence because Stuart's lips had silenced hers.  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Charlie, Kate's second letter began, this one had been dated April 30, 1876.  
  
Leopold took me on a walking tour of New York today. Wow, what a difference. There is no Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, only one island with a star fort on it called Bedloe's.  
  
We stopped off at The Bank of New York and opened a safe deposit box in your name. I hope you get my key; I will stuff everything in it that I think you will be interested in, including these letters.  
  
We passed the American Museum of Natural History, which is in the same place, but doesn't look the same. The Metropolitan Museum of Art does not exist anywhere near Central Park yet, although the park and the zoo are there. The museum does exist, but in this time period it is on 128th West 74th Street. The New York Public Library doesn't exist; it is presently the Croton Reservoir. There are so many differences between your time and mine.  
  
We went to a newly opened Central Park where we went on the carousel and visited the zoo. You'd never believe it, Charlie, but the zoo is so different. All the animals are behind cages, not roaming free. It is so strange to see that.  
  
We had just finished scrambling up a rock when Leopold requested that I sit down on the top of it. He got down on one knee, picked up my left hand, put his mother's ring on my ring finger and proposed to me. Of course my answer was yes and he kissed me, Charlie. It was the most beautiful kiss I have ever received from any man.  
  
"I have another surprise for you, Katherine," he said, helping me up. He led me to a small church on Fifth Avenue where we were married in a quick ceremony. I don't know what Uncle Millard would say about all of this. He's under the impression that we will marry on Saturday in a very private ceremony. Leopold told me that couldn't wait until then.  
  
I am so nervous now, Charlie. We'll have to explain this to Millard and see what happens. I have to take speech lessons and learn proper grace and etiquette in the next few days.  
  
Your sister is now a Duchess. Wish me luck.  
  
All my love,  
  
Kate  
Chapter 23  
  
"Well, she's done it," Charlie said, putting Kate's second letter down on the table. He grinned. "You don't think that she might actually talk about her wedding night, do you?"  
  
"Come on, Charlie," she said, laughing, "be reasonable. No woman would write about a thing like that except maybe to a really close friend or in a diary."  
  
"Well, we have one right here," Charlie said, pulling out of the safe deposit box. One among dozens, he thought as he peered inside the box.  
  
Charlie and Patrice had left for the bank earlier that morning. As soon as they walked through the door, Charlie had asked to see Mr. Stovall for help as he had promised to do. As it all turned out, Mr. Stovall was everything he said he was, quiet, polite, helpful and eager to please. He was extremely skeptical about Patrice, though, until Charlie told him she was his fiancée.  
  
"Whatever you say, Mr. McKay," Stovall commented, still staring at Patrice, "just taking precautions. Just remember, please be careful with anything you may find within."  
  
Stovall brought them to the back and removed one of the boxes, number 54 to be exact. He placed it on the highly polished wooden table. "Any questions?"  
  
"Actually," Charlie asked, "I was wondering if I can take anything that I find of interest home for further study."  
  
Stovall smiled. "Whatever you wish to do with the contents of that box is up to you, Mr. McKay," he said. "Well, if that is all, I wish you good afternoon and I hope to see you again."  
  
He smiled once more, walked to the door, opened it and walked through, leaving Charlie and Patrice alone.  
  
Charlie watched as he left, then turned and walked over to the box. He took out the key and placed it in the lock.  
  
"Well," he said, looking at Patrice "here goes." He turned the key, threw open the top and peered inside.  
  
"Oh my God," he exclaimed.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"You aren't going to believe this, Patrice. Take a look for yourself."  
  
She stood and peeked into the box.  
  
The inside of the box was jam packed with letters and about ten diaries. Underneath those were coins and bills from the 19th century, some jewelry, a brush and comb set with a mirror and Leopold's mother's ring.  
  
"Wow," was all she said. She looked at Charlie who was already looking at her. "There's a lot here, Charlie. What do you want to start off with?"  
  
"I think," Charlie said, "we'll take these. I've got to take some of these letters home, so I'll start with the ones marked 1876, including the diary, which is from 1876 as well."  
  
"Shouldn't we be sharing these with Stuart and Amber?"  
  
Charlie looked at her. "I will, Patrice, just not right now. I want to read these things for myself." He looked at her. "You have the plastic bag?"  
  
Patrice nodded.  
  
Charlie smiled. "Good. Let's pack up the stuff marked 1876 and we'll get out of here."  
  
Patrice put the bag on the table and packed the letters and diary very carefully while Charlie took a last look into the box. He was about to close it, when something caught his eye. He smiled as he reached in and pulled it down. He closed and locked the box, then called over the security guard and asked him to put number 54 back where it came from.  
  
Chapter 24  
  
Stuart was frustrated. He had tried all afternoon to find a way to get back to 2001 from 2030, but there was no way it would work. Amber had been right; the portal was screwy. It would only open and close at different times during the two days and even that would change. So, if they jumped into the future, they couldn't plan on coming back to this time period, they would have to wait until 2030 to work on those calculations and they would only have two days to do it.  
  
Amber would know how, he thought suddenly. She had already done it. She knew that that portal was open for two days; she would've jumped the night before if her grandfather hadn't stopped her. So she knew that she might not be able to get back to her own time and she took a chance and jumped anyway.  
  
Stuart smiled and shook his head. He couldn't get that woman out of his mind. He had never felt this way about Kate; not in the entire four years they had been seeing each other. He loved Amber and he didn't want to lose her. If he had to stay in 2030, then he had to. There was nothing holding him here, except maybe Bart, and there were ways around that problem, too.  
  
He felt his stomach grumbling and realized that he hadn't eaten anything for hours. He started to get up when the front door opened.  
  
"Stuart?"  
  
He smiled and got up. "Amber," he called, threw down his pad with his calculations on them and ran to the door. "What are you doing here?" he asked her, looking at her watch. "You still have one more hour to go?"  
  
"I quit," Amber said, sitting down on the couch. She had been crying and seeing Stuart started her up again.  
  
Stuart sat down next to her and took her in his arms. "What happened?"  
  
Amber pushed away from him. "It's J.J.", she said.  
  
Stuart nodded. He had heard all those stories before.  
  
"Go on," he whispered.  
  
"I went to get a cup of coffee and he followed me in there. He told me I was doing a fantastic job and that I reminded him of Kate in a lot of ways. I laughed and thanked him and started to pour the coffee into my cup, when he grabbed the pot and did it for me. He also had taken my advice and had begun to look around for a replacement, but he wanted to make sure that I didn't want Kate's job permanently. That's when he started to massage my back and told me that he'd make it worth my while if I stayed. I didn't even ask him to explain, Stuart, I just got up and walked out and I refuse to go back there."  
  
She began to cry and Stuart took her in his arms again. "No, you don't have to go back there, Amber. " He released her and looked at her. "Kate used to tell me horror stories about other women that he did this to, never her, except when he took her out to dinner that night, the night that Charlie and Leopold showed up. Charlie told me last night, Amber. I didn't realize that he would pull the same thing with you. He hardly knows you."  
  
Amber smiled. "It doesn't really make a difference. I've completed all of Kate's work. She didn't have much on her plate anyway and I wanted to concentrate on those portals, Stuart. That's where my interest lies now, not in marketing research anymore."  
  
"You know, there is a way around that portal, Stuart. I should have told you sooner, but we'd have to go back and I really don't want to."  
  
Stuart frowned. "What are talking about?"  
  
"There's a book with all my calculations in it. I forgot to take it with me, which was a silly thing to do if I needed your advice."  
  
"What are you saying, Amber, that there is way to get back to 2001, because no matter what I do."  
  
"Not sure, Stuart. We'd have to wait until we got back there and get that book. Meantime, I did remember some of what I wrote. Come on, we still have some of the afternoon and evening to come up with something. What do you say?"  
  
Stuart smiled and gave her a little kiss. He took her hand and pulled her up from the couch. "I say I'm starved, Amber. I want to take you out to dinner and I know the perfect place to go."  
  
"Wait, hold on," Amber said, smiling. "I need make love to you first." She took him in her arms and they started to kiss.  
  
Chapter 25  
  
"Here it is, Charlie," Patrice called out. "It's in the diary like I said."  
  
Charlie ran in from the kitchen where he had just prepared dinner.  
  
"The wedding night?" he asked, handing her the pastrami sandwich that they picked up from one of the delis on the way back from the Bank of New York.  
  
"That and a few other things," Patrice said and she started reading.  
  
Leopold was right; the entry began, as usual. He told me that keeping this diary would let out a lot of my frustrations. We've been keeping it in Leopold's hidden drawer outside the main ballroom so his Uncle Millard wouldn't get his hands on it.  
  
Speaking of Uncle Millard, we had to find a way to get into the mansion with anyone knowing or seeing. Leopold explained that there are five separate entrances to the house, one from the basement and a servant's entrance at the back of the house. There are three more hidden walkways; every house in this time period had one. He took my hand and we walked around the back to the servant's entrance, which led directly to the kitchen. Luckily, none of the servants were awake and this included Otis.  
  
He led me through the kitchen and up a secret stairway known only to the servants. Basically, this was how the staff moved through the house.  
  
Of course, this led to the servant's quarters on the third floor, but since everyone was everyone was asleep and we made it down to the second floor where the guest rooms were located.  
  
We decided that no one would check my room, and with that idea in mind, we'd spend the first night of our marriage in my room and explain everything to Millard in the morning.  
  
"Watch this," Charlie said, looking up at Patrice, "he's going to wake up and find them together. Want to bet?"  
  
Patrice just looked at him with a little grin. "You watch too many movies, Charlie," was all she said, and she continued.  
  
After closing the door, Leopold and I laughed. We had gotten away with it after all, he wasn't sure we would.  
  
It was then he kissed me. It was hard to let go of each other, but we managed to, just long enough to undress.  
  
We stood there looking at each other, I can't even remember how long until Leopold grabbed me and pulled me close to him.  
  
"You are more beautiful than I could ever imagine, Kate McKay Montbattan," he whispered and kissed me, gently at first then more intense. I could feel him hard against my body and then I have no idea what happened after that until I woke up this morning in his arms. It was the first time in my entire life that I've ever felt this way. I know now that I am finally in love. It's a different feeling than I've ever known.  
  
It is now 5:30 am and I am sitting in a matching chair that belongs to my vanity table. From here, I can see Leopold lying on his left side and facing in my direction. He looks so quiet and peaceful lying there and I find that I can't keep away from him.  
  
"Is that it?" Charlie asked, a little stunned," There's nothing more?"  
  
Patrice shook her head. "I haven't found anything."  
  
"Well, " Charlie said, "I did find something that you might be interested in seeing."  
  
Chapter 26  
  
"How soon can we leave, Stuart?" Amber asked, excitedly as the two of them sat in Ben's Deli on 38th Street.  
  
"Hey, now wait a minute," Stuart said. "You told me that you wanted to stay here."  
  
Amber shrugged. "Yeah, I know," she said, "but I feel safe knowing that you're coming with me." She smiled and reached across the table for his hand."  
  
Stuart smiled and grabbed her hand and they stared at each other across the table for several seconds before the waiter brought their pastrami sandwiches. "I thought that we might do our final calculations and set up a schedule of events that we follow once we get there. We really don't have enough time to test it out. It opens at ten in the morning and closes fifteen minutes later. Then it will reopen on Friday at midnight and stay open until eleven fifty nine Sunday night. We will leave as soon as it opens, go sightseeing, work on our calculations and go see your grandfather."  
  
"You think it's that easy to see my grandfather?" Amber asked. She shook her head. "I don't know about this, Stuart."  
  
Stuart squeezed her hand. "Everything will be fine. We still have time. You did figure two days in a row, didn't you?"  
  
Amber shook her head. "Listen, I also figured I'd be able to follow you back to 2001. That night, when I followed you back to 1876, I worked on those calculations and everything pointed to me going back to your time, but it didn't work that way, Stuart. I went from 1876 to 2030 without blinking an eye. According to my calculations, that never should have happened."  
  
"Look," Stuart whispered, "If we get stuck in the future, then we do, Amber. I love you and there is nothing left for me in this time period at all except for you and I can't live without you. I want to be with you the rest of my life, and I don't care where I do it."  
  
That's when they both noticed that everything had suddenly gone quiet. They looked around and noticed that every eye was on them.  
  
"Maybe we should get this stuff to go?" Stuart whispered, fumbling with something in his pocket. He turned around and called the waiter over.  
  
In ten minutes, they were out on the street, with Stuart and Amber laughing hysterically. "You've got to stop this, Amber," Stuart said. "You are making me laugh."  
  
"I'm sorry, Stuart," she said, "I don't know what came over me. I just can't believe what you said to me in there, that's all."  
  
She started to walk away from him, leaving him standing there, staring after her. When he realized that she was going to keep walking, he ran after her.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute," he called, catching up with her. He touched her shoulder and turned her around.  
  
"I said a lot of things in there, which one did you want me to repeat?"  
  
"The part where you said you loved me," Amber answered, moving closer toward him.  
  
Stuart smiled and put his arms around her neck.  
  
"I love you Amber Coulter and I want you with me, always." He pulled her closer and kissed her, long and hard. He pulled away and reached into his pocket and pulled out a solitaire diamond ring, surrounded by two sapphire baguettes.  
  
"This belonged to my grandmother," Stuart said and took her left hand and slipped it on her ring finger. "It's been in the family for ages and I want to keep it that way."  
  
Chapter 27  
  
Charlie pulled Kate's letter out of his pocket and opened it up when he noticed something had fallen out of his pocket. He looked at it, smiled, and then picked it up and returned it to his pocket.  
  
Dear Charlie, the letter began. It's now Friday morning, May 2. We didn't get away with not seeing anyone as we had hoped. Uncle Millard had been up and in his study on the second floor of the house when we ran downstairs excited like two little kids about to do something very naughty and hoping that they wouldn't get caught.  
  
He saw me in my new satin robe as I was returning the diary to the secret draw. I had just placed it inside when Millard called me in.  
  
I reluctantly went inside, not knowing what he would do if he found out that we had gotten married without his knowledge.  
  
He told me to sit and stared at me for several seconds, smiling broadly.  
  
I was a little frightened and very confused. He seemed to sense that and shook his head.  
  
"Kate," he said and while I don't remember exactly what he told me, I will try to relate as much as I can accurately.  
  
"I know you love my nephew and I know that he loves you. It's the first time in a long while that I have ever seen him so happy. It was right before his mother's death from consumption, when he was fourteen years old. Edward died of a stroke soon afterward, which didn't help matters." He looked down, trying to hide his tears, and then he looked up at me again. "She was my sister, Kate. Her name had been Katherine, like yours. She had married the Queen's distant cousin, Edward Montbattan, the Duke of Albany*. They were given a home in the English countryside, where they raised their only son, Leopold. After his parent's death, Edward's title was passed on to him. He was only fifteen when he came to live with my wife, Millicent and me. We sent him to the Academy for Boys where he grew into a fine young man who, like many great scientists before him, loved to tinker with things. That's how he came to perfect the elevator, Kate. My wife would encourage young Leopold in everything he did, until she died three years later."  
  
"Leopold missed her and was never the same. He became bitter and belligerent, never listening to anything I would tell him. He was always rebellious, Kate, and still is. I brought him here to New York three years ago where I thought he would finally settle down and marry. Leopold wanted no part of an arranged marriage and fought me every way he could, sometimes disappearing for days on end. Leopold finally decided to accept things as they were after we had a small talk until the night you showed up on our doorstep. " He stopped then and looked at me, waiting for me to say something, but I couldn't think of a thing to say.  
  
He sighed, then stood up from behind his desk and walked over towards me.  
  
"Katherine, my dear, it has been hard for me to accept you, I think you know that already. I have had long conversations with Otis and some of my colleagues at the Men's Club. I have observed Leopold's happiness whenever you are around and, to be perfectly honest, you have impressed me as well. I have seen how happy the two of you are together, which made me remember my own unhappy marriage. Mine had been arranged Kate, for money, the same reason that I tried to marry Leopold off. I decided then that I would never subject my nephew to my fate. And so, the two of you have my permission to marry, if you haven't done so already." He took a breath and continued, his eyes still on me. "Please take care of him, lovely Katherine. I have only one favor that ask of you and that is to keep my nephew happy, something that I could never do." Charlie stopped. He looked up at Patrice who was sitting on the edge of her seat, watching him intently.  
  
"Is that it?" she asked.  
  
Charlie shook his head and brought out another piece of paper and smiled.  
  
"Well?" Patrice asked, teasing. "Let's hear the rest of it."  
  
Charlie picked up the letter and continued to read.  
  
*Author's Note:  
  
The events surrounding Leopold's age and parentage are fictional and are only used for purposes of telling this story.  
  
The real Leopold, Duke of Albany, was Queen Victoria's seventh son. He married Princess Helena in 1882 and had two children with her, Alice in 1883 and Charles Edward in 1884. Leopold died of hemophilia at age 31 on March 11, 1884 in Cannes. Victoria was the carrier and passed the disease on to him who, in turn, passed it on to his two children.  
  
Elisha Graves Otis, who patented the design, invented the steam elevator in 1861.  
  
Chapter 28  
  
Amber looked down at the ring on her finger and picked her hand up to examine it closer.  
  
She looked up at Stuart with tears in her eyes. "I can't accept this, Stuart. This is too much." She smiled and tried to remove the ring from her finger, but he stopped her.  
  
"No," he said, "I love you and I'll go anywhere to be with you, Amber, even if it means back to the future."  
  
Amber looked at him and smiled. "You are serious, aren't you?"  
  
"Of course, I'm serious. I couldn't lie to you, Amber."  
  
Amber smiled and looked down again. "Stuart," she started to say, but thought better of it.  
  
"Something wrong, Amber?"  
  
"I should have expected that you would do this, Stuart, I just didn't know where or when."  
  
Stuart frowned. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Tears began to flow, but she brushed them away. She smiled and ran to him as she flung her arms around his neck.  
  
"Marry me, Amber," he whispered in her ear. "Marry me now, tonight. This way, if anything happens, we'll be together."  
  
Amber smiled. She wasn't going to tell him just yet, she was going to wait. "Of course I will, Stuart. I love you very much."  
  
Chapter 29  
  
"Page 2" Charlie looked up and smiled. When he saw Patrice's stern look, he stopped smiling and continued to read.  
  
"Charlie, I didn't know what to say, I was absolutely speechless. I guess I should be happy, mostly because he finally accepted me as his new niece and what's more, he didn't even check out our great, great grandfather to see if he knew who I was.  
  
"Thank you, sir," was the only thing that I thought to say, but then I quickly added more. "I intend to do more than make him happy, Uncle, I plan to help bring in some much needed money around here."  
  
Millard frowned and looked at me. "How so?" he asked.  
  
"I want to market his invention, Uncle," I answered, "I want to put them in every building in the city of New York and I would like to start on our little project as soon as possible that I am Leopold's new bride."  
  
That's when he smiled at me and I wondered if something was up.  
  
"Market. This is an interesting sort of word. What do you mean by that, Kate?"  
  
I sat forward in my chair a little. "Well, market, you know, shop around and get the right deals for the right price. Isn't that what you do at a market?"  
  
Millard began to smirk a little as if he were trying to keep a straight face. "And you want to do business deals as well with men? Kate, we are not ready in this time period for someone like you. No man in this day and age will do any serious business with a woman. Maybe where you come from, they do, but.."  
  
And Charlie, that's just when his voice trailed off. He stood up, pulled something from his pocket and came around the desk toward me.  
  
"Kate," he said, stopping by my chair and sitting down in the chair next to mine. "I found this. Can you please explain it to me?" He held out what looked like a small piece of paper.  
  
I took it from his hand, looked at it and gasped. Charlie, you'd never believe it, not in a thousand years. It was that picture that Stuart took the first time we were both in 1876.  
  
I looked at him now a little ashamed of myself and frightened. "Uncle Millard," I said in a very small voice, "I just don't know what."  
  
Millard smiled and took the picture from my hand, stood up from the chair and walked over to the fireplace and threw the picture into the flames. He turned around and smiled at me and returned to the chair beside me.  
  
"How did you?" I started to say, but Millard put his hand on my knee, patted it once and then removed his hand.  
  
"Otis was with me, Kate, when I found it on the floor outside your room this morning. He had given it to my nephew to get rid of it, but apparently he held on to it for his own reasons." Now he stood up and walked over to his desk, but this time, he stood in front.  
  
'Otis explained everything to me. I still find it a little hard to believe that he had gone forward in time and met you, but after watching your actions and listening to some of your words, I can very well believe it. You are different, Kate, different from any woman I have ever known. At first, as I said, I didn't care for it, but now I find it delightful and refreshing. You are a breath of fresh air to this moldy old house, Kate, and I for one, love it. I know that Leopold does."  
  
"Know what?" Millard looked up and I turned around. Leopold was standing there  
  
Millard looked up. "Ah, Leopold, just in time. Well, our talk is done, Kate." He straightened up and pulled out his pocket watch. "I have a rendezvous at the Men's Club this afternoon and if I don't get ready, I am going to be late." He closed the watch and returned it to his pocket.  
  
He looked up and he smiled at me, then he turned to his nephew. "You do love her, don't you? You want to be with her the rest of your life?"  
  
Leopold looked at his uncle curiously. "Of course I do, Uncle. Why do you ask?"  
  
Millard smiled and shook his head. He told Leopold that there were no reasons for any of his actions, except one. That he loved the both of us and wanted to see Leopold happy.  
  
"I hope Father Xavier didn't keep you two that long. Tell me, Leopold, has St. Dominic's changed at all?"  
  
We stared at each other, wondering how Millard knew that we had gotten married yesterday. Charlie, doesn't this sound suspicious? It was as if he set the whole thing up to prove that he was telling the truth."  
  
Then he looked at me. "Welcome to the family, Kate McKay Montbattan." Then he hugged me, Charlie, kissed me, then walked out the door with Otis, laughing as he did so.  
  
Chapter 30  
  
Charlie looked up at Patrice. "Well, that's it. What do think?"  
  
"Not sure, Charlie. Where did she get those pictures? Why did she bring them back with her?"  
  
Charlie shrugged. "They were Stuart's originally. He took them the day he went back to 1876. We brought them to her three nights ago, the night she jumped into the East River. I think she scooped them all up and ran out so quickly that she forgot that she brought them."  
  
`'Didn't she get them wet when she jumped into the water?"  
  
"They were in a plastic bag, Patrice."  
  
Patrice looked at him. "Is it true that they only knew each other for a week?"  
  
Charlie smiled. "That's it, but Leopold really fell for her, hard and fast. I think I fell for you the same way."  
  
Patrice looked at him. "I had no idea, Charlie. I had some feelings for you."  
  
Charlie frowned. "You were seeing someone else, Patrice. That guy you live with, what's his name?"  
  
"Philip," Patrice said, smiling. "He's my roommate and he's my older brother as well. He needed some place to crash one night, and he stayed. I actually don't mind, Charlie, he helps me pay the rent."  
  
Charlie's eyes widened and tried not to smile. "You mean that every time all of us ended up at your apartment, it was your brother who would join us?"  
  
Patrice nodded her head. "Did you ever see him kiss me, Charlie? That's why I gave Leo my number that night. I had to explain to you in some way that I was not engaged, that I didn't even have a boyfriend."  
  
Charlie looked at her with a goofy grin, something she never noticed before in the four months that they knew each other. "Charlie? What's up?"  
  
He sat straight up, moved closer and reached into his pocket. "Patrice, I was wondering if you would be willing to, well, accept this ring. It was my sister's; she left it for me in that safe deposit box. It was Leo's mothers ring."  
  
Patrice watched as he slipped it on her finger.  
  
She looked up at him. "This was your sister's ring? Charlie, it's lovely."  
  
"She left it for me, Patrice, and I want you to have it."  
  
She shook her head, her tears flowing down her cheeks. "Charlie, I'm not ready."  
  
Charlie smiled and put his hand over hers. "Take your time, Patrice. Think about it. It can be a month or a year from now; I want you to be sure. If you decide yes, that will be the greatest news. If you decide no, well, you can give me the ring back if you want and we'll call it quits. Fair deal?"  
  
"Charlie," Patrice said, "Oh Charlie." She began to cry. Charlie moved closer and reached up to her cheek and brushed the tears from it.  
  
"What's wrong, Patrice. I'll understand, believe me."  
  
Patrice shook her head and smiled through her tears. "No, Charlie, it's not you. No one ever asked me to marry them before and I just need some time to figure this all out. But there's one thing I want you to know, Charlie, and that is that I love you."  
  
Charlie smiled; this was almost too good to be true.  
  
"And I love you, Patrice, I think I always have. I never expected that you would give me the right time of day."  
  
She smiled. "You surprised me, Charlie. I never realized how much of a gentleman you turned out to be. And I never thought that I would ever fall for anyone."  
  
"Leo rubbed off a little on me. Sometimes I miss him, Patrice."  
  
"Yep, you've changed so much since I first met you, Charlie. You are a totally different person."  
  
And she leaned over and kissed him hard on the mouth.  
  
"Charlie, we have some great news to share with you."  
  
Chapter 31  
  
Charlie and Patrice turned toward the sound of the voice. "Stuart?" Charlie asked, standing up.  
  
"Yeah, Charlie, it's me, and my wife."  
  
Charlie left Patrice on the couch and walked forward. "Your what?"  
  
"My wife," Stuart said. He was surprised how funny it sounded. He was going to have to get used to it.  
  
Charlie walked over to the two of them. He was smiling. "Married already? Well, that was fast, wasn't it?"  
  
Stuart smiled. "There's a reason, Charlie," he said, "that's why we're here. We're going to be leaving and I don't know if we are coming back." "Where will you be going?" Patrice asked, coming up from behind Charlie.  
  
Stuart looked at the two of them. You'll never believe me," he replied.  
  
Charlie smiled slightly. "Don't tell me you found another portal."  
  
"I didn't," Stuart said, putting his arm around Amber, "she did."  
  
"Portal?" Patrice asked, a little stunned. She looked at Charlie.  
  
"A portal is an opening in time, Patrice," Amber told her. "I've been working with some of Stuart's calculations and there's a lot of them in East River, not just one."  
  
"There's one that goes to the 20's, Charlie," Stuart said, excitedly. "And another goes to the 1700's."  
  
"And," Amber continued, "there's one that goes forward to my time, 2030, but it's screwy. That's why we need your help."  
  
Charlie looked at Patrice who was already staring at him. "Screwy, what do you mean screwy?"  
  
"Well, Charlie," Stuart said, "We know when the one to 2030 opens, but we have no idea when it closes or if we can get back to 2001. It's a tricky situation."  
  
"But Amber came from the future through the portal."  
  
"Yes, Charlie, it's true. You see, I followed Stuart when he first jumped off the bridge to 1876, but when I tried to return to 2001, it sent me back to my own time. That's not how I had calculated it."  
  
"Whoa," Patrice exclaimed, "Wait a minute." She turned to Charlie. "You have a sister who jumped back in time and you have a friend who."  
  
"Relative, Patrice," Amber said, looking at Patrice. "Charlie is my first cousin once removed."  
  
"WHAT?" Charlie looked at her, apparently in shock. He turned to Stuart. "Did you know about this?"  
  
Stuart looked at him, nodding his head. "Yes, Charlie, she told me."  
  
"And I was going to tell you, Charlie, it's just that."  
  
"Hold it," Charlie said, "I should have realized this two days ago. Your last name is Coulter, my mother's side of the family. How are you related?"  
  
Amber looked at him. "I'm Kelly Coulter's daughter, Charlie."  
  
Chapter 32  
  
"Kelly is Mark and Eileen Coulter's daughter, my cousin," Charlie said, explaining to Patrice. "Uncle Mark punished himself for believing that he ignored his wife and is punishing Kelly for it." He looked up at Amber. "Then Mark must be your."  
  
"My grandfather, Charlie, he's been torturing me to death for years and making me feel guilty on top of it."  
  
Charlie frowned. "Making you feel guilty? In what way?"  
  
"He wants me to stay with him, Charlie. He doesn't want me to have boyfriends or get married. He always discouraged them. This is why I was against marrying Stuart in the first place."  
  
"But I insisted," Stuart chimed in. He placed his arms around Amber's waist and pulled her closer to him. "I couldn't live without her, Charlie. She's everything I was hoping Kate would be and then some."  
  
"No wonder," Charlie laughed, "that you were so much like my sister."  
  
They all began to laugh except for Patrice, who was still a little confused.  
  
"Wait a minute," Charlie laughed and walked toward Stuart. He embraced him and patted him on the back before he released him. Charlie took hold of Stuart's hand and shook it. "Welcome to the family, Stuart. You finally made it."  
  
Amber laughed along with the rest of them as Charlie came over to embrace her. She was about to let him go when she caught Patrice looking at her.  
  
"Look at that ring," Amber said, practically pushing Charlie away and walked over to her. She picked up Patrice's hand and stared at it. "This is beautiful, where on earth did you get such a beautiful thing?"  
  
Patrice was about to answer when Charlie did it for her, "It was Kate's ring, Amber. She left it for me. It was Leo's mother's ring."  
  
Stuart smiled. "Charlie, I had no idea. I hope the two of you.."  
  
"Wait, just a minute," Patrice stopped him. "We are not engaged and we are not getting married so quickly. I told Charlie that I wasn't ready for all this yet. I need some time to think about it." She turned to Charlie. "That's what we agreed on, wasn't it? Wasn't it? Tell them, Charlie."  
  
Charlie looked over at her. He had a confused look on his face as he turned to Amber and Stuart. He was just about to open his mouth, when he heard Patrice's voice.  
  
"You know something, Charlie? I just realized that you're whole family is screwed up. Your sister jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge to get to the past and now the two of you are jumping off to go into the future? " She turned toward him. "I don't know why I thought you changed, Charlie. You're the same old clown as you were five months ago and I don't need more clowns in my life. I have enough craziness going on. I don't need to share someone else's." She turned and walked back to the couch. She grabbed her coat and walked through the door, slamming it behind her.  
  
Charlie looked as if he were going into a panic. He looked at Stuart and Amber, then ran for the door.  
  
"Patrice, wait," Charlie called, running down the hallway to the stairs. He said it so loud that Amber and Stuart heard him with the door closed.  
  
Chapter 33  
  
Amber couldn't sleep. She looked down at Stuart next to her and smiled. She was going to love being married to him. He was the inspiration behind all this work on the portals. If it weren't for Stuart, she'd never be here.  
  
She got up from the couch and looked around. They were still in Kate's apartment and she was still waiting for Charlie to show up. She walked out onto the roof and looked out at the New York of 2001. It was different and jarring at first, but as time went on, she's gotten used to it more and more. In a way, Patrice was right. What were they doing? Maybe it was a crazy stunt to pull. Maybe she really just ought to...  
  
"Still here, are you?"  
  
Amber turned around and a little sad smile formed on her lips. She shook her head. "Sorry, Charlie, I didn't mean."  
  
Charlie shook his head. "No, no, Amber. Don't concern yourself. I don't think we were really meant for each other anyway." He smiled. "Family tradition. I'll have to marry a Coulter woman."  
  
"You'd have to find one that wasn't a relative," Amber smiled, "especially your first cousin. Isn't that against the law?"  
  
Charlie smiled. "Well, I didn't mean you and you're married already. " He laughed. "Well, one good thing, she didn't give me back the ring."  
  
They both laughed at that, then Amber started to reach into her front jean pocket. She pulled out a medium sized wallet; thin enough to put into your pocket and wide enough to keep lots of stuff in. Charlie marveled at it when she pulled it out.  
  
"Something from the future, I assume?"  
  
Amber nodded. "How did you ever guess?" she said as she pulled three papers out. She handed them to Charlie. "I've been carrying these around with me for ages and I never knew why. I shouldn't really be showing you these."  
  
Charlie took them and stared intently at them.  
  
In one of them stood a man and woman dressed in wedding clothes. On either side of the couple were people that he had never seen before in his life, but he did recognize three others in the picture.  
  
"That's me and Patrice," he said, looking up at her, smiling. "And that is, "  
  
Amber nodded, smiling. "Me," she whispered. "I was four years old when you and Patrice got married. Patrice just thought I was the cutest blond haired child she ever saw and had to have me as her flower girl."  
  
Charlie smiled and shook his head as he reached for the next picture. It was Patrice holding a tiny baby.  
  
"Your first born, Charlie," she said. "You named her Katherine Eileen." Charlie looked up at her. "You'll have two more children," Amber said, "two more boys. Katy was the only girl."  
  
The next image was of Charlie sitting with his arm around Amber's shoulders, pulling her close to him.  
  
"That last picture," Amber said, "wasn't taken all that long ago. It was in a nightclub that you were appearing at. We all went to see you that night, including Grandfather." She sighed. " I shouldn't be telling you all this, Charlie. No one should know too much about his or her own future, you could change the course of your own destiny."  
  
"Which means?"  
  
Amber smiled. "You know damn well what I'm talking about, Charlie. Now you know you should go after her. You know where she lives."  
  
"Yes, Amber, you're right. I think I will, but I need to ask a question first."  
  
Amber looked at him. "What is it you'd like to know?"  
  
"If you stayed here," Charlie asked, smiling, "in this time period, would you still be the flower girl at my wedding?"  
  
Amber smiled and shook her head. "Of course, I will be, I'll still be born. As long as I don't interfere with my mother's pregnancy next year, I'll be fine. There'll be two of me though."  
  
Charlie laughed. "Well, then, how do you explain the two of you at my wedding?"  
  
"I suppose we'll worry about that when the time comes," Amber answered, laughing with him. They fell into each other's arms.  
  
"After her already, Charlie?"  
  
Charlie and Amber broke apart.  
  
"Come on, Stuart, she's my first cousin."  
  
"And anyway," Amber said, "He's got somewhere to go."  
  
Charlie looked at her, a funny smile on his face. "You are so much like my sister, Amber. I'll miss you when you go."  
  
He turned to Stuart. "Take care of her, cuz." He embraced Stuart and let him go. "You better not disappoint me because when I get to 2030, I'll look the two of you up and if I find that you hurt this wonderful girl.."  
  
"Go, Charlie," Amber said, "Go and get Patrice."  
  
Charlie looked back at his cousin.  
  
"Thanks for all your help, Amber." He embraced her again and then released her. He made his way to the stairs, but turned around at the last minute.  
  
"Hey," he called to Amber, "I still have your pictures."  
  
"Keep them, Charlie, those are copies. Don't worry about anything."  
  
Charlie smiled and shook his head. "Thought of everything, didn't you?"  
  
Amber nodded. "Go, will you?"  
  
"Leaving right this minute," Charlie answered her. "Have a good trip, the two of you. I love you both." He smiled at them and turned back toward the stairs. It was the last time that either of them would see him, at least in this time period.  
  
Chapter 34  
  
Charlie ran down the fire escape so quickly that he thought he would lose his footing and fall. When he reached the street, he stopped and looked around, first left and then to the right. He decided he would go left, towards Patrice's apartment when he heard someone calling him. He turned quickly to find Patrice standing in back of him.  
  
"Charlie," she said, "I am."  
  
But Charlie never let her finish. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her as if he had never kissed her before. When they had come up for air, she looked at him, almost forgetting where they were.  
  
"Charlie," she repeated, "listen, I."  
  
"No," Charlie said, taking her hands into his. "I was wrong, Patrice. I should never have expected you to accept all this. I should have realized that my whole family situation would sound really strange to you. I mean it has to me. I never expected that Leo would enter my life and make such an impact on my immediate family and me. I should have never."  
  
Patrice held her finger up to his lips and smiled. "I should have realized that already, Charlie. I've met Leo and you've been talking about Stuart and his time travel stuff non-stop for all the months I've known you. I guess Amber was the surprise. I never expected anyone to travel back in time from the future. That's where they're going, isn't it? You know, Stuart and Amber?"  
  
Charlie nodded. "I guess they decided they had some urgent business to complete in the future. He tells me that they are coming back, at least Amber wants to. Stuart says that."  
  
Patrice put the finger back again. "Answer me one question, Charlie. Are you planning on time travel any time soon?"  
  
Charlie smiled and shook his head. "No, I don't plan on going anywhere. I do have that acting job coming up and I." He stopped and looked into her eyes. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
Patrice smiled. "I'll need somewhere to live. Seems that I got used to living with someone else for two nights and I liked the arrangement."  
  
"What?" Charlie asked, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"Well, it's like this. I missed you, Charlie. I missed you and your jokes and your smiling face. I didn't want to go back to my apartment, so I took the pedestrian walkway up the Brooklyn Bridge to that girder you, Stuart and Amber are always talking about. "  
  
Charlie shook his head. "At this time of morning? Patrice, we shouldn't even be out."  
  
She put her finger back to his lips. "Well, that's when I realized that I still had your ring on my finger. I looked down at it, then at the girder remembering where it had come from. My original thought was to give it back, but I got to thinking why your sister had jumped off the bridge in the first place. Kate gave up her time period for Leopold and now Stuart is giving up his time period for Amber. And I want to give my time to you, Charlie. I don't want you doing something crazy like."  
  
"Like what? Jump off the bridge to see my sister in the past or visit my cousins in the future? " Charlie smiled and shook his head. "Never happen. I have too much to do in this time period. I do not feel the need to go anywhere else right now. Not without you, anyway."  
  
Patrice smiled. "I love you, Charlie, I just wanted you to know that."  
  
"And I love you, Patrice." Charlie whispered. He took her into his arms and kissed her, gently this time.  
  
She pushed him away again, a smile on her face. "Maybe we can continue this upstairs? I think I would feel a little more comfortable."  
  
Charlie laughed. "That's just what I was thinking." He held out his arm and Patrice put her arm through his. "Come, my lady, we have much to discuss." And the two of them headed arm in arm into the lobby."  
  
Chapter 35  
  
"I think we're about ready," Amber called out as she packed up a handful of Kate's modern clothes that Charlie had lent her when she first arrived in 2001. "I'll come back for them eventually," she told Charlie that first night, even though she only took a few things. She figured once she got back to 2030, she'd sell them all to the thrift shop down the block. Everyone was crazy about old clothes of this period and these were perfect.  
  
"Almost," Stuart called out. "I've got my equipment and my calculations. I've never jumped with all this stuff before." He looked at the overstuffed knapsack, picked it up and placed it on his back. "Boy, is this heavy," he commented, mostly to himself. "I hope I can get it all to work."  
  
Amber smiled. "I made it here from the future, didn't I?" She pointed at her own overstuffed knapsack.  
  
Stuart smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips. "That you did." He straightened out the sack. "I'm ready. Let's go."  
  
And so they made their way toward the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge and toward the site of the other portal, the one to 2030. It was located not that far from the 1876 portal and it wasn't necessary to walk across the girder to get there. Stuart looked at Amber and took her hand in his. She looked back at him, smiling, and gripped his hand tightly. They stood that way for a moment before they stepped over the wire onto the outer edge of the bridge.  
  
Stuart looked out over the East River and noticed that the wind had picked up slightly. His eyes traveled from the shore of Brooklyn to his left, scanning over the water onto the Manhattan side, most notably South Street Seaport, the building on Pier 17 lit up brightly as usual.  
  
Suddenly, he was frightened. He was leaving everything he knew behind and taking this chance that he wouldn't be returning to the New York of 2001.  
  
"Stuart?" He heard her voice calling out his name, but it was far away and faint as if in a dream. "Are you alright?"  
  
He turned his gaze toward Amber who had been staring at him, waiting for him to answer. She was so beautiful, he thought in that instant, the wind blowing her blond hair away from her face.  
  
"Yes, Amber, I'm fine." He couldn't believe that he felt tears welling up in his eyes. "Ready?" he asked.  
  
Amber smiled. "Ready," she said, gripping his hand even tighter. What was wrong now? She'd done this before and by herself. What made this time so different?  
  
They stared at each other once more before turning their eyes downward toward the water.  
  
It was that moment that they jumped, Stuart's mind a blank, forgetting about everything else except that they were doing this together and that they would be facing the future and every obstacle that life would throw at them.  
  
And he would be ready, as long as she was by his side.  
  
Chapter 36  
  
Three of Kate's letters lay on the coffee table where Charlie had placed them. They had read all three of them together before both of them got lost in each other. Patrice couldn't believe how much the two were in love and that Kate had been willing to sacrifice her whole modern life for a nineteenth century duke.  
  
She sat down on the couch and picked up one of those letters. She wanted to read it again, those beautiful words all linked together in sentences and paragraphs. Those words haunted her and kept her awake long after Charlie had gone to sleep.  
  
Charlie, the letter began as usual  
  
I suppose you read the letter about Uncle Millard's acceptance of me. He knows that I am from the future, although he doesn't really know what year. Leopold was reluctant to answer and on his advice, I haven't either. He told me to give it a few days, that you couldn't believe everything that Millard says.  
  
It doesn't seem to bother Leopold though.  
  
Last night, I wasn't able to sleep and on waking, I noticed that Leopold was not in our bed. I hurried out of the room to find him staring out the window.  
  
"Come Katherine," he said, holding out my nightgown jacket. "I could use an early morning stroll."  
  
I stared out him. "Leopold, it's."  
  
"Three in the morning, I know." He smiled and held the jacket open for me to slip into.  
  
He held the door open for me and we walked out onto the street. Leopold just closed the door; he didn't even bother to lock it. Let me tell you, Charlie, it was so strange. Three in the morning and the streets were empty and quiet as a little mouse. I have never seen New York like this.  
  
It was beautiful as we walked in silence. I looked up at the sky and you could actually see the stars, Charlie. It was breathtaking. Just think of a planetarium and you've got the idea.  
  
We walked until we reached a small park with some benches and beautiful gardens. The flowers and bushes were so lovely that I left him for a bit and walked over to admire them.  
  
He called my name and I turned around so fast that I almost bumped into him. Leopold had followed me over and was standing right in back of me. He smiled at me, took my hand and wrapped it around his elbow.  
  
"I'm frightened, Kate," he said, squeezing my hand.  
  
"Of what?"  
  
Then he explained that at least one of Millard's colleagues was interesting in installing his invention in his department store. He wanted to come to the house to meet with Leopold and negotiate terms and conditions with him, but Leopold put him off because of nerves.  
  
"It's not like me to be insecure," Leopold said, looking at her, "but for some reason I panicked."  
  
He explained that he wanted my expertise on this. He set up another meeting for tomorrow and he wanted me to be there with him. I don't exactly know what role he'll want me to play, Charlie. In this century, men do not do any sort of serious business with women.  
  
I did remind him of that fact, but he held his hands up and shook his head. "I know all about that, Kate, but I have an idea," he said, "at least hear me out. "  
  
Patrice yawned and put the letter down on the table, knocking the remaining papers to the floor. As she picked them up, she noticed three photographs on the floor and picked them up.  
  
She gasped as she looked through them one by one. The one that held her interest though was the one of Charlie looking over at Patrice in a hospital bed as she held up a tiny baby to the camera.  
  
She smiled. So they would get married and have a baby, maybe two if she could. Patrice had always at least two or three children.  
  
She looked down at the pictures and shook her head, still smiling. She picked up the rest of the papers from the floor and placed the pictures on top of them. She'd finish the letter and confront Charlie with the pictures in the morning.  
  
Chapter 37  
  
Stuart broke the surface first. He had become separated from Amber as they hit the water. He kept himself afloat as he looked around, first to the Brooklyn shore on his left to the Manhattan side on his right. He searched for the familiar lights of the Pier 17 building, but he couldn't see them. He wasn't sure if it was the fog and rain that hit him in the face or that the building didn't exist anymore.  
  
He had no time to worry about that right now anyway.  
  
"Amber?" he asked first, very slowly and cautiously. "Amber, where are you?" Well, Stuart thought, it was obvious she wasn't here, but where could she have gone? She's done this before.  
  
"Stuart, over here," he heard a voice cry out. He turned toward the Manhattan side again and sure enough he saw here standing on the shoreline, waving her arms so that he could see her. A delighted smile lit up his face and he swam toward shore as fast as his arms and legs could carry him.  
  
"You scared me, I thought I lost you," he said, climbing out of the water and putting his arms around his new bride. He smiled. "Some way to spend a honeymoon, don't you think?"  
  
Amber smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Come on, I'll show you around."  
  
Stuart released her quickly and looked around, frowning. "You mean we're here? This is it?"  
  
"Can't you see the difference?" she asked, searching his eyes. When Stuart shook his head, she took his hand and placed it in hers.  
  
"Come along, Stuart, you are going to get an education that you will never forget."  
  
As Stuart let himself be dragged along, he couldn't help but think about that Tuesday when Leopold first woke up on his couch. Well, now he could imagine how Leo had felt the first time he had confronted him. Stuart felt strange and disoriented, but giddy and excited at the same time. It was a new world and another time period. He found that he was curious and anxious to discover this new place.  
  
The first place that Amber showed him was a partially burned out apartment building.  
  
"Look familiar?" was all she asked.  
  
Stuart stared up at it, then looked at Amber shaking his head. "You were telling the truth, weren't you? Something about this part of this city changing for the worst?"  
  
Amber's smile widened. "You haven't seen anything yet." She took his hand again and led him up the fire escape steps. When she reached the third floor, she let go of Stuart's hand and walked straight ahead until she reached a door.  
  
Stuart began to follow, then held back as he realized where he was. "This is my apartment, isn't it?"  
  
"It was your apartment, Stuart, a long time ago. Now it's just a burned out hole, one in which I live and work sometimes, my escape from my grandfather. I wasn't allowed to do my calculations at home, remember?"  
  
Chapter 38  
  
The letter continued:  
  
His idea was to market this campaign together. Leopold will help me with the research while I write out a small paper explaining the pros and cons of investing in an elevator for your department store or office building.  
  
Meanwhile, since they don't take women seriously in this day and age, I will coach him on how to sell his product. I will be there for him if only in the background. Leopold wants this to be success. He wants to prove to his uncle that there are other ways to make money aside from marrying the richest girl in New York State.  
  
I know what you're thinking, Charlie. You know as well as I do that his invention will take off, but right now we have to promote this idea and convince the public to accept this. We have a lot of work to do if we are to make this success that we of the future know that it is.  
  
A loud knock on the front door surprised both Charlie and Patrice.  
  
"Are you expecting anyone?" Patrice asked.  
  
Charlie shook his head and smiled. "Now you know the answer to that, Patrice." He was about to kiss her when another knock came, harder this time. Charlie shook his head, stood up and made his way to the door.  
  
"Where is she, Charlie?" J.J. spat out the words as he stood in the doorway.  
  
Charlie tried to hide a smirk. Behind him, he heard Patrice as she moved a little closer.  
  
"Geez, J.J., not even a hello, how are you?"  
  
"Where is she, Charlie?" J.J. repeated, trying to get past Charlie.  
  
"Where is who, J.J.? I thought that we explained to you."  
  
"Amber Coulter, Charlie. Where the hell is she?"  
  
Charlie looked at him, a little stunned. "Amber?" he asked as if he hadn't the slightest idea who he was talking about.  
  
"Don't play dumb with me, Charlie. I know that you know where they are. You and your girlfriend over there."  
  
"Fiancée," Patrice answered, frowning, walking toward Charlie and putting her hand in his. "I have no idea who you are talking about and what's worse is that I've never seen you before. Who are you anyway?"  
  
Charlie looked at Patrice with a funny smile on his face. He squeezed her hand tightly and she squeezed back. "Fiancée, huh? Listen, Charlie, I."  
  
"No, J.J., you listen. You have two minutes to leave this doorstep before I call the police. There is no reason for you to be here criticizing and asking questions about my family or my friends."  
  
"I just wanted to speak to Amber, that's all. Is she here?"  
  
"No, J.J., she's gone. She just got married and she's off on her honeymoon and that's more than you deserve to know." Charlie looked at him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some catching up to do myself, so why don't you take the hint and get the hell out of here." He turned his attention to Patrice, but not before stretching out his right arm and slamming the front door right in J.J's face.  
  
Chapter 39  
  
Stuart couldn't get over that this was still his apartment. Amber explained that Charlie and Patrice taken care of all the maintenance and expenses on his apartment just in case he would return sometime.  
  
"Just like in the movie, The Time Machine," Charlie had explained to her one afternoon.  
  
Stuart just stared at her. "You mean I just."  
  
Amber smiled and nodded her head. "You were experimenting with one of the portals, Stuart and you just disappeared one afternoon."  
  
Stuart stared at her and moved closer. "You knew that? You knew that all the time, didn't you?"  
  
Amber picked up her arms and put them around his neck. "I am from the future, you know. The funny thing is that I haven't seen you around here at all. Not in this building anyway."  
  
"Amber, I was wondering." but at that point Amber pulled him closer and he forgot everything he wanted to ask.  
  
Now, here he was in the middle of night, walking around the apartment that he just left this morning. There were several things missing. One of them was his television set; the other was his CD player/radio/turntable combination. Bart and the barrier fence keeping him inside the kitchen were gone. In fact, it was so much neater this way. Amber really had done wonders with this place considering that it was just a shell at this point. There was no electricity; she only worked here in the daylight hours. If she remained here after dark, she would have to turn on her pocket flashlight to do her calculations.  
  
She had discovered a paper of his here, used his calculations to figure out the portal to 2001. So she experimented and took two trips back in time to meet him, but was too nervous to say anything until the night he and Charlie stopped her by the bridge.  
  
Now everything was complete, at least with their relationship. They had been holed up here for a day and a half trying to figure out that 2001 portal and were getting nowhere with it. He remembered that Amber had told him that she had kept all her calculations in a small book, which is why they returned here to this time period in the first place.  
  
"Stuart, it's not here. I thought it would be, but it's not."  
  
"I thought you said that you left it here."  
  
She walked out into the light of the living room. "When I said I left it here, I meant in this time period. I was hoping it would have been in your apartment, but I wasn't sure. It has to be at my grandfather's apartment. I'm going to have to go back there. We don't have too much time either."  
  
"What are you talking about, Amber. We have a day and a half left."  
  
Amber smiled. "I suppose you're right. We have some time left and I'm really not that anxious to see my grandfather. "  
  
"How far do you live from here?" Stuart asked.  
  
Amber smiled. "Not all that far, I'll take you there when it's daylight. We are going to have to coordinate times and stuff. I do remember coming here the day before I jumped off the bridge to hide from the grandfather, but he followed me here. Not to this apartment, just to the building. I never made it up here that day, so I'm not exactly sure what happened, but."  
  
Suddenly, there were footsteps in the hallway. Stuart looked at her, but she held a finger up to her lips and shook her head.  
  
They barely had time to hide as they heard the front door open.  
  
Chapter 40  
  
Well, Charlie, you'd never believe this, but we have two extremely interested clients. One of them is a small store here in the city and another is the new hotel out in my hometown of Massapequa. Leopold and I will drive out that way tomorrow. It will take about two days to get out there with Millard's private coach, but we have set up a meeting for next Monday. I will look for our great, great grandfather's store and let you know what It looks like and what I find.  
  
Funny thing about all this, I am absolutely fascinated with this time period, even though the roles for women are greatly reduced. I miss you, but I do not miss the 21st century.  
  
I love Leopold and he adores me. Millard knows the truth and he has accepted me, even though Leopold tells me that I can't trust him, but for some reason that doesn't upset me. Leopold is the man that I have been waiting for all my life. We were made for each other and I am glad we have found each other. Thank Stuart for me and tell him that I am glad that he found me that night and handed me those photos.  
  
Someday, I hope to see you again. Leopold told me that if there is one time portal in the East River, there are bound to be others. Someone with Stuart's genius would be able to figure out where they were and he was sure that someday we'd all be traveling in time. Whether this is true or not will be very interesting. Until that time, however, I hope you and Patrice (that's who Leopold told me you were seeing) are happy together.  
  
Meantime, I will keep writing and leaving these letters in the safe deposit box that I have opened for you.  
  
Kate.  
  
"Well," Charlie said, putting down Kate's third letter. " We all know that they were successful. I had no idea my sister would make such a big difference in history."  
  
"Well, she did go back." Patrice said. "She would have wanted to get involved with any project he might undertake."  
  
Charlie shook his head. "That's just her job, Patrice. She knew exactly what she was doing, no matter J.J. did to her."  
  
He sighed and continued.  
  
"I can't believe that he lost his job at GRG," Charlie said, looking at Patrice after they had watched J.J. walk out of the apartment building onto the street.  
  
"Who is he, Charlie? I mean, I hate to be rude, but."  
  
"No, I'll tell you. He was Kate's boss while she worked at CRG. He recommended her for the promotion to Vice President the night she disappeared. He took a lot of flack over that. He took advantage of Amber and she walked out on him I don't really know what happened after that, except that Kate had dropped hints long before Amber that he was doing this with other women. That's why the turnover was so great in that department. Maybe the rest of the company found out what he was doing and finally got rid of him. That's all I can think of, Patrice. I don't really know."  
  
"Well, I guess, we'll probably never know, will we?" Patrice whispered. She put her arms around his neck. "Charlie, I need to ask you something?"  
  
"Sure, Patrice, what's the question?"  
  
"These pictures," she asked, picking them up off the table. "Where did they come from? I suppose they belong to Amber."  
  
"Yes, it's true," Charlie said. "They are from the future."  
  
"So this means that we."  
  
Charlie smiled and shook his head. "No, Patrice, no one should know too much about his own future. It can be changed. So far if everything goes according to plan, we will get married in five years or at least make it public."  
  
Patrice looked at him. "You might be right, Charlie, but let's just take one thing at a time."  
  
Chapter 41  
  
"I can't believe it," Amber said, looking at Stuart. "He knew where I was all along."  
  
"Come on, Amber, don't blame yourself. You didn't know."  
  
"Well, I should have. It's no wonder those calculations were screwy. Grandfather's been changing all of my figures without me knowing it. " She picked up the piece of paper with the latest calculations on it, the ones that they had been working on for the last day and half and threw it back down on the floor.  
  
"We can't use them now, all that hard work."  
  
Stuart looked at her a little confused. "Amber, I don't know about this. I worked on those calculations myself and I still couldn't get the portal to work."  
  
Amber looked at him and shook her head, a frown appearing on her face. Then all of a sudden, her face began to brighten.  
  
"Stuart, you were using my original calculations, which, as we have discovered, were tampered with. I am sure my books have been changed as well, so we are going to have to get some new numbers."  
  
Stuart brightened, then nodded. "I did bring the equipment with me. With that, it wouldn't take more than a few hours to figure out. I'm almost sure of it."  
  
And so the two of them worked very closely together, figuring out and correcting each calculation for all the sites that Amber worked on. Stuart was insistent on experimenting with these calculations, but Amber argued that there wasn't enough time, that whatever was going to happen would happen and this is what they had to face.  
  
They fell asleep sometime before dawn and awoke in the late afternoon. They made love and ordered in a pizza before they decided to venture outside. Amber wouldn't go, she said something was annoying her and she didn't want to leave the room. Stuart urged her to test out the portal before they left for good and she agreed to go a little reluctantly. It was a lot later now; it looked as if it might be nine at night. They left through the roof door down the fire escape stairs.  
  
"Maybe you're right, Stuart. Maybe we really check this portal out and make sure that our calculations are correct. "  
  
Stuart smiled. "Well, I'm glad to see that you finally agree with me." They reached the sidewalk where Stuart put his arms around her shoulders. "I am so glad you came into my time period, Amber. I never expected anyone to love me or have this much faith in me. You changed my whole life, my love, and have given me the confidence to go through with this. I am just sorry that I couldn't give you a better honeymoon than this."  
  
"So," a voice called out from behind them. "So, Stuart, you finally married into the family, I see. I guess the only problem is that you don't look any older than you did in the 21st century."  
  
Amber turned around recognizing the voice. Stuart looked up.  
  
"Mark?" Stuart asked, removing his arms from around her shoulders.  
  
Mark Coulter smiled and extended his hand. "I haven't seen you in years. They all said that you disappeared, but I had no idea that you have turned up in this time period. We all knew about your time traveling madness, but it seems you have proven me wrong. Now, if you just get away from my grandchild and return to 2001, I will be a very grateful man."  
  
Stuart frowned and shook his head. "I can't do that Mark, she is my whole life. You see, we just got married and we are celebrating. She's mine now, I'm responsible for her from now on, not you."  
  
"Stuart," Amber began than stopped and turned to face her grandfather.  
  
"He's right, Grandfather, please. I love him, I always have."  
  
Mark looked at her. "You are looking for trouble, young woman." He smiled. He knew she hated when he told her that. He knew just how to get her to feel guilty and tonight was no exception. He knew she was afraid of him and would probably leave Stuart to return home with him. As soon as that happened, Mark thought, he would take care of Stuart in his own way.  
  
He never dreamed that he would be proven wrong.  
  
Chapter 42  
  
"Grandfather, it won't work this time, "Amber told Mark, taking Stuart's hand in his. "We are married now and I intend to stay that way. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some business that we have to take care of."  
  
Mark smile widened. He chuckled a bit. "You mean your little calculations and your damn time portals in the East River, is that it? " He shook his head. "You can't find anything. I've changed around all your numbers, Amber. It's the only way I know how to keep you locked in this century at least. "  
  
Stuart looked at Mark, amazed. "How do you know so much about Amber's calculations, Mark. I never wrote a book and I never kept notes."  
  
"Ah, but my granddaughter has. She's been keeping notes and instructions where I could get my hands on them. She always thought that I knew nothing about math or what she was working on, but it's not true. I knew exactly what she was working on, she wasn't quiet about it and I kept following her to see what she was doing."  
  
Stuart looked at Amber. "Just tell me that this is not true. How could you discuss any of this with anyone?"  
  
Amber shook her head. "I never told anyone, Stuart. He knows because he butts into everyone's business." She looked at Mark. "So know I know, Grandfather. You have been screwing up all my work just to keep me here. Well, you can't do that. I have found a way to get back and that's just where we are intending to go. I cannot stay here anymore, Grandfather. I cannot live with you here in the time period any longer. I am twenty-eight years old, a grown woman. I will not be humiliated for the rest of my life. I need my life back. There are many other things important to me now and Stuart is my life. I intend to spend the rest of my life with him. Now if you will excuse us."  
  
"And how will you be getting back there, my girl. There is no way, not without this." Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out Amber's notebook of calculations.  
  
Amber stood there in wonderment. Where could he possibly have found that?  
  
"Those are mine, Grandfather. Whether you screwed up my calculations or not, I want that book. Please, Grandfather."  
  
Mark stopped smiling. "If you want this, then you will do as I ask. Now get away from him and go back home. I will meet you there in a few minutes, but first I must take care of Stuart my own way. Now, get going."  
  
Amber looked at Stuart, who looked back at her. "I must do this, Stuart," she said, letting go of his hand. "I must go back with him. He can't have those calculations."  
  
Stuart looked at her, not believing his ears. "No, you can't leave. I won't let you. I can't. I am nothing without you."  
  
"You must, Stuart. You have to. You have to go back to 2001 and go on without me. Just remember that I love you." She took him in her arms and embraced him tightly.  
  
She gave him one last look, kissed him on the cheek and backed away. Then she turned to Mark. "I am ready now, Grandfather." She held out her hand toward his and Mark smiled as he held out his hand to take hers.  
  
Within a flash of a second, Amber grabbed his hand and pulled hard, throwing Mark to the ground, dropping her notebook in the process. Amber grabbed for it and stood up. "Come on, Stuart," she said, throwing him the book. "Let's get the hell out of here while we are able to do so."  
  
Stuart stowed the notebook in the inside pocket of his jacket. He reached for Amber's hand.  
  
"Not so fast, my girl." Mark said, grabbing her pants leg. Amber struggled to free herself from his grip.  
  
"Let her go, Mark," Stuart said, grabbing his hand and successfully removing it from her pants leg. "Leave her alone."  
  
"Who the hell are you to take her from me, Stuart?" Mark asked, throwing Stuart's hand off and getting to his feet, apparently unhurt. "You are nothing but a bum. You've always been a bum. Kate had to support your research, pay your rent and all your bills. I don't believe you've ever worked a day in your life, have you?"  
  
Stuart was about to say something when he caught sight of something going past him quickly. Looking down the block, he noticed a blond head running toward the direction of the East River and what he assumed was the Brooklyn Bridge. He turned to face Mark who had noticed the same thing. That's when the both of them discovered that Amber had run off.  
  
"Amber!" Mark called out and began to run after her. He had forgotten all about the book and ran after her, calling out her name.  
  
Stuart ran after the two of them, not exactly sure which Amber he was running after. He knew that there would be two of them eventually, he just didn't know what time or when that would occur. He was just thinking about that, when he caught sight of another Amber, this one oblivious to the fact that Stuart was even there.  
  
It didn't really matter because Stuart was unprepared for what would happen next.  
  
Chapter 43  
  
Amber ran like crazy for the bridge. It was just ahead of her. All she had to do was turn the corner and she would lose him. She was sure of it. She ran faster than she ever had in her life, hoping that Mark wouldn't catch up with her as he had done before. She smiled. She had so much to tell Stuart when they returned to 2001 and she knew they would. It was still early and they had a lot of time before the portal closed. Just to make sure, Amber pulled up her sleeve and took a look at her watch.  
  
It was 11:35, twenty minutes to go. She shook her head in disbelief. Where had the time gone? Mark couldn't have held them up that long. She had to hurry, she couldn't wait for Stuart; he would catch up eventually.  
  
She caught sight of something running past, looked up and gasped as she realized that she was watching herself run toward the Brooklyn Bridge, ready to jump off to find Stuart in the 21st century.  
  
Amber shook her head and checked her watch again, just to see if see had read it wrong, but she hadn't. She didn't move as Stuart's words filled her head.  
  
"You understand that there will be two of you," he had explained, "but if you see yourself jumping off the bridge on Monday, May 4 than you know that the portal will have closed and you shouldn't jump. Remember that, Amber. No matter what happens, I'll be there."  
  
She stopped, watched and waited.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Stuart ran after Mark as fast as he could. He caught up to him as he turned the corner and grabbed for Mark's shoulder to stop him. Mark turned around and smiled.  
  
"Give me that book, you slippery little weasel," he said, reaching out to grab him when they both caught sight of the second Amber heading toward the bridge. The blond girl that he was chasing had also stopped to watch. Mark shook his head. "No, it can't be," he repeated over and over.  
  
Mark smiled. Here was his chance to get her. The other one was headed toward the bridge, but he could still take the second one home.  
  
"Mark, leave her alone," Stuart called out as he grabbed for his shoulder again, but Mark turned toward him.  
  
"She's mine, Stuart, not yours. She will never be yours. You just remember that, do you understand me? Now you just go back to your own.."  
  
Mark stopped mid-sentence. He suddenly grabbed his arm as it was starting to tingle. He felt it earlier on, but had paid little attention to it, believing it to be nothing more than a small pain. He suddenly felt dizzy and not at all well. Everything began to swim around him and he blacked out, falling to the ground.  
  
Stuart watched him fall and bent down to take his pulse. Mark's heart was still beating as he reached for his cell phone and to call the ambulance to the scene. By the time Stuart switched off his phone and touched Mark's wrist again, he was dead.  
  
Stuart stood up as he heard the EMS sirens screaming down the road and ran after Amber.  
  
"Don't jump," he called out, as he ran after her. "Please Amber, don't jump. Remember what I told you."  
  
Stuart had forgotten all about the second Amber as he watched the first one standing on the girder. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was now 11:50. He ran faster, the sweat pouring from his face.  
  
"Amber, wait please. They were wrong, listen to me. Don't jump, wait for me."  
  
He kept running, but he knew he'd never catch up. He watched her turn and look in his direction, but that didn't stop her. "Amber, don't," he continued to call. "Please wait, please don't jump."  
  
Stuart finally stopped a few blocks from the bridge and looked at his watch, which read 11:55. The portal would close in five minutes and he would never make it. He watched in horror as the blond woman at the end of the girder look down at the water, then jump off, leaving him all alone in the a strange New York of the future.  
  
"Stuart," a voice called out, grabbing him from behind. "You told me if I saw my double not to jump. You told me that it would be too late. The portal is closed, love. We are stuck here in 2030."  
  
Stuart turned around with tears in his eyes. "Oh my God, Amber, you're still here. I thought that you jumped without me."  
  
Amber smiled. "No, Stuart, I couldn't jump; not without you. Besides, you said if I saw myself."  
  
Stuart smiled. "That was your double?" He grabbed her and embraced her, tears falling from his eyes down his cheeks. "I thought I lost you, Amber. I thought that you were gone. We're safe, Amber, we are in the future, but we are safe together." He squeezed her tight, but Amber pulled apart.  
  
"How can you say that, Stuart?" Amber frowned. "How can you be so sure? Grandfather is still."  
  
This time it was Stuart who put his finger up to her lips. He shook his head.  
  
"No, Amber, it's over. Mark Coulter is dead. Your grandfather is gone. We are alone now."  
  
Amber didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What happened?"  
  
"I believe he had a heart attack, running after you. I think seeing the two you jolted his heart a bit. He's gone, Amber, there's nothing to worry about anymore. I'm here with you and I'll stay here until the portal opens again, if it does. Our calculations were still incorrect, but we have time to fix that now, love. There's no rush."  
  
He looked into Amber's face for a reaction, but she began to cry and pressed closer to him. "I don't believe this," she said, shaking her head. "I can't believe this. She put her arms around his waist and started to cry. "Hold me, Stuart," she said, "please hold me and convince me that this is all real."  
  
"It's real, Amber," Stuart said, "it's all real."  
  
And as the nearby church bell began to chime twelve, the two stood there clinging to one another in happiness and disbelief.  
Epilogue  
  
July 18, 1886  
  
Dear Charlie, Patrice, Stuart and Amber  
  
I can't thank you enough for the happiness that you brought to Leopold and I and our two children. We were all so happy to see all of you again after ten long years. Our first born, Rebecca, had heard so much about her Uncle Charlie from the future that she thought that you would look different from the way we look, but I think all four of you were able to clear that up.  
  
I don't know where to start. Thanks to Stuart and Amber Besser, my cousins, for making this all possible with their discovery of another portal that allowed us all to be together. And another thank you goes out to my brother Charlie and his wife Patrice, whose desire to see his sister again brought all of you into the past.  
  
It was funny how you found us at home this day. No one was more surprised than I when Leopold answered the door and saw the four of you standing there. Becky and little Leo had their niece Katy and nephew Sean to play with. And Amber, my lovely cousin, I am so glad that I was able to meet you. We are so much alike, you and I, not only in looks, but also in spirit.  
  
It was good to hear about you all, how Charlie has become not only a well- known comedian, but an actor as well. Stuart and Amber have developed a method of time-travel that has become a best-selling book and are now in discussions to have this made into a movie. Stuart and Amber work so well together and make a great team. The love in their eyes is genuine. Stuart, you have chosen wisely and it makes me happy to see that you finally settled down with someone you love so much and who can return that love. Thank you again for giving this book to us. Leopold has always been fascinated with your method of time-travel  
  
And Amber, I wish you and Stuart all good luck with your first ever time- travel novel. I know that it will be a best seller.  
  
Our walk in the park, our picnic lunch and our dinner around the table were wonderful and revealing and it was a shame when all you had to leave to go back to 2011.  
  
Now a little bit about us, although you know that the elevator has been a great success. Leopold's toaster has been sold to another company, but he will be receiving a certain percentage from his invention. It's too bad that Uncle Millard is not alive to see his nephew prosper. He would have been so proud of him, of both of us.  
  
Anyway, I am sorry that the time was so short. Hopefully, with the calculations that you left us, Leopold will be able to find his own time portal and we will come to visit you in the 21st century. In the meantime, it was good to see you all again and hope to see again soon.  
With love from all of us here,  
  
Kate 


End file.
